


Of Bears, Private Jets and Waterballoons

by push_it_hajime



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Angst, Bears, Camp, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, High School, M/M, Minor Character Death, Water Balloon Fights, iwaoi - Freeform, not canon, private jets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 05:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 40,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7921735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/push_it_hajime/pseuds/push_it_hajime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Traditionally, the first-years at Aoba Johsai go to a camp in their first week of school, to get to know each other better and make new friends. Iwaizumi isn't sure what he's expecting - memes from Makki and Mattsun, no doubt, but apart from that? Not much. But boy, is he in for a wild ride.<br/>Or: The one where Oikawa is rich, Iwa is poor (shut up) and Mattsun and Makki are memes, as usual. If he's not careful, Oikawa might get murdered in his sleep.</p><p>*This work is completed, and I'll hopefully be updating it every other day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Frenchibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/gifts).



> Thank you Chibi-chan, my dearest beta reader who saves my life on a daily basis.
> 
> This is the longest fic I've ever written and it took me like a month

"I got it. You don't need to repeat it."  
"Baka, baka, able ble ble, baka!"  
"Oi, shut up! I'll shove this up your ass!"  
"Do you watch too much hentai?"  
"That's not it!"  
"Stupid _and_ perverted!"

Matsukawa and Hanamaki facepalmed miserably on the other side of the court.  
"Ahhh ... Was it really a good idea to leave them alone for a minute?" Hanamaki's face turned pale from worry as he watched his two classmates fight across the tennis court.  
"I needed to use the bathroom," Matsukawa shrugged. "I'll show them both real quick if they don't shut up."

"I can't hear you, no I can't hear you! Bleble, why are you so small?" The taller of the two, the one with puffy hair and hazel eyes made faces at the other one, raging furiously.  
He yelled out a curse, made a fist and swung toward the tall one's face as suddenly a strong grip from behind pulled him and his enemy apart.  
" _Oi_ , what's with the noise?! Do you even know each other?! Get along!"  
"Sensei ..." Mattsun and Makki backed off and hid behind a tree.  
"Ouch! _Who_ do you think you are, this hurt!"  
"Because you're weak, _Shitty-kawa_."  
"I'm not weak! Don't make weird nicknames!"  
"Don't act like a little whimp!"  
"You wanted to hit me just now, you're mean! So mean!"  
"I'm gonna wipe that derp off your face."  
"Try it!"  
" _ **Enough!**_ " The teacher seemed to have finally reach his limit. "You two ... You two have been doing nothing but causing trouble this entire time and I am _sick_ of it! Listen to me very carefully. From now on, you will come spend the afternoons in my office while the rest are free and you are going to _get along_ for this camp or I'll kick you out! Got it?" It seemed like a black aura had gathered around the teacher as he glared at the two students who turned backs to each other.  
"No go."  
"Don't wanna."  
The teacher obviously didn't make it clear enough. "Kick you out of _school_ , for that matters. And you are going to do as I say. Starting now."  
"Hmpf." The taller man pouted into the air. "No can do."  
"Oikawa." The teacher now looked completely wrapped in dark. "I don't care how great your grades are or how rich your parents may be. You are going to shake hands with Iwaizumi-san now and you two are going to _stop_."

"Tch." Oikawa and Iwaizumi slowly turned to each other, shooting each other countless glares. None of them wanted to offer their hand first. The teacher had to grab them by their wrists in order to make them move at all.  
"Gyaaa, ouch, are you trying to break my fingers?!" Oikawa quickly pulled away with an offended expression.  
"Too bad I didn't," Iwaizumi replied, shoving his hand back in his pocket.  
"Iwaizumi," the teacher warned. "Alright, you two. I'm glad we worked this out. Now get ready for your activities, we're starting in fifteen minutes."

"Phew, that sure was rough," Hanamaki slapped Iwaizumi's back when Iwaizumi appeared again.  
"Do you know this guy?" Matsukawa asked.  
Iwaizumi huffed, visibly pained. "No. I hate this stupid camp, I hate the fact that I'm in the same class as that idiot. How long have we been here?" He looked up at his friends.  
"Eh ... two days."  
"Five more to go."  
" _Fuck_! It feels like forever," Iwaizumi sighed. "I can't believe I just started high school and I'm already miserable."  
"Yeah, we thought it was going to take longer, too," Hanamaki confessed.  
"Don't you think our homeroom teacher is a little bit too rough, though?" Mattsun asked.  
"Nah, these two could use a good beating," Makki winked. "Perhaps we can show them later."  
"I'll pass," Iwaizumi crossed his arms in front of him. "Keep those dirty fingers to yourself. Oh, great, here he comes. It's _disgusting_ how all the girls drool around him."  
"Mmm, ye, what's the deal with him?"  
The three of them only managed to roll their eyes at the pretty boy before their teacher appeared again.

"Alright, students, gather around. This is our second day of our camp. Please put away your phones, Uchiyama, are you listening?  
So. For today's activities, you are divided in pairs. You can pick a partner on your own and the rules will be provided once you sort out." It seemed as if the teacher had already finished and students started fetching those they got along with, but the man wasn't quite done yet.  
"Oh, right. Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime?" he called. Everybody shut up as the two answered.  
"You'll be working together. Good luck," he slightly bowed to them as he handed them a thin paper, probably containing instructions.  
"What?!" They both jumped up but nobody was paying attention to them anymore.  
"I can't work with _you_!"  
"So this guy was for real ... Makes me want to beat him up."  
"You can't just beat everyone up! Geh!" Oikawa jumped away when Iwaizumi suddenly turned to him.  
"Look, I don't want to work with you either. I think you're despicable. But we have to get this done or we'll get into even more trouble." He didn't look satisfied at all but he slowly, painfully reached out his hand. "L-l-let's do our b-best."  
Oikawa stared at him, as if actually considering his offer for a few moments. Then he started laughing uncontrollably. He covered his mouth with his hand as he pointed to Iwaizumi.  
"This guy ... Are you for real? Me, working with you? No. _C'est impossible._ Never." He stopped laughing only to scan Iwaizumi from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. "You come from a poor family? Then you must be used to work. So, how about you do all the-"  
"Trashykawa, Assikawa, Cockykawa, I'll tear you apart!" Iwaizumi rolled his sleeves up, ready to beat the shit out of him.

_Khem._

"You two, with me."

"I was told to use any method on you two. I don't understand why you hate each other and I don't care about it but you are disturbing your classmates and their work and it is unforgivable.  
So.  
I'll have you two excluded from the program the next two days. If you don't find a way to work together by then, I'll be forced to send you home."  
"Can't you just separate us and have us work in different groups? I don't know why you're so passionate about us working _together_ if we clearly work better _apart_."  
"Because, Oikawa Tooru, this is exactly why this camp exists. To meet your new classmates and make new friends _or_ , in your case, to get rid of pointless childish behaviour and judgemental thoughts." The teacher looked at Iwaizumi and at Oikawa again. "I would have been okay if the two of you had any kind of past together. But by what I hear, you pretty much hate each other for no reason. That is something I won't tolerate in my class."  
Oikawa exhaled through his nose. "Hmpf, my parents can arrange me to transfer to a different class in a minute."  
The teacher didn't react to that, while Iwaizumi clenched his fists but kept quiet.  
"What, got anything to say? Say it." Oikawa daringly looked at Iwaizumi.  
"Even in a different class, you'd still be an idiot."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the legendary nickname was invented.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter !!  
> And I'm always happy when I get comments, so do leave them if you have anything to say.

"I'm dead." As Iwaizumi fell onto his bed, completely exhausted, he covered his face in despair and groaned loudly. "I can't stand this guy. I was forced to talk to him today and all I got was 'Baka-chan' or 'I'm not listening' or 'that's not my problem'." He sat up, fixing his look at Mattsun. "What were you doing?"  
Mattsun stood up from his backpack, pulling out a smaller flat piece of clay. "We didn't really do much so we told the teacher we made John Cena and naturally he couldn't see him but he wasn't very satisfied so I made a plate and Makki made a spoon." Mattsun shrugged.  
"Carefree like always," Iwaizumi chuckled. "Is this really only day two?"  
"Yup. You'll be fine."  
Iwaizumi threw himself back against the mattress, crying miserably as the door to their room opened.  
"Yo," Makki said as he closed the door. "I'll be sleeping here today as well," he said. "I'm sure my roommate won't mind. He's playing his psp so intensively, I don't even think he noticed me leave." He sat himself on Matsukawa's bed. "What's new?"  
"Hajime's fallen into deep depression."  
"Oh, really? Damn, I wish we could help him ... I wonder if there's a way ..." Mattsun and Makki were already getting closer and closer to Iwaizumi's bed. "A double massage, perhaps?"  
"No, don't you dare, get your nasty fingers off me! Guys, we're gonna wake everyone else, stop! Ew, Mattsun, that's not my back anymore. You guys are so _disgusting_."

The trio woke up lying all over each other, still in Iwaizumi's bed. The boy kept calling his best friends annoying and impolite and _way too touchy_ but it was all meant in good spirit. They were a little late already so naturally, Iwaizumi hurried with his morning routine while the other two seemed as slow as ever.  
They ended up ten minutes late so the teacher was already explaining what they were doing in the morning. Mattsun, Makki, and Iwaizumi snuck between people in hope not to get noticed when they suddenly almost fell over because of an extremely annoying sound from behind.  
"Yahoo ~" Oikawa appeared, as loud as ever and waved cutely at the group.  
"Oikawa, do you know what time is it?" The teacher checked his hand watch. "You're late."  
"Oh, really? I'm sorry," he innocently apologized, flashing one of his perfect smiles toward the man. Some of the girls nearby looked at him with stars in their eyes as he made his way to the very east side of the group.  
The teacher continued explaining their task for the day normally, as if Oikawa's loud entrance didn't happen.

"Iwaizumi."  
Iwaizumi turned to the voice calling out for him. "I have a lovely little mission for you and Oikawa. Come with me."  
The teacher dragged resisting Iwaizumi toward a tree under which Oikawa entertained some lovestruck classmates.  
"Alright, girls, get to work, I'll be grading these papers." The girls gasped in disappointment but they ran off anyway, giggling about how perfect their tall classmate was.  
"Good morning," the teacher properly greeted the two pouting boys before him. "Not any better than yesterday, huh? I guess it really can't be helped ... We'll be making marshmallows outside on Friday evening. I know that's five days from now but the weather forecast says it's going to rain in the next days. What I'm trying to tell you, we need dry wood. You will be kind enough to get some for us, right? You don't need to carry all of it at once, make trips. Keep cellphones in case anything happens. Stick together. And if anything happens to the other, don't leave to get help, _stay there and call_." He smiled at them. "Now, that's about it. Have fun!"

As the teacher returned to his class, the boys looked at each other.  
"No. Na-a. Don't even think about it. These clothes, do you know how much I paid for this? Nope, not doing that. No way. Never."  
Iwaizumi growled as he grabbed the blabbering idiot and dragged him away. "Shut up and listen to those above you for once."  
"What makes you think you're above me? And let me go, I can walk on my own."  
"I was talking about the teacher."

It hasn't even been two hours when Iwaizumi and Oikawa yelled at each other -for the fifth time- in the middle of the forest.  
"It's because of _you_!"  
"No, we're lost because you kept blabbering about how this isn't fair and you lost track!"  
"No, we're lost because _you_ led us the wrong way because _I_ said the other one was the right one!"  
"It's not all about you!"  
"Well it clearly isn't about you by what I hear from you!"

They were both very angry at each other, shooting death glares and ready to get into a real fight.  
"Can you just stop blaming me and help me find the right way back." Iwaizumi knew they had enough wood back at the place they were staying. He knew they were only sent out in attempt to 'learn how to work together' or some other similar bullshit.  
Whoever thought they would do it when _alone_ , was incredibly stupid.

"Oh, now you admit you need my help." Oikawa crossed his arms on his chest. "I'm not interested, non merci."  
Iwaizumi growled. "What's your problem? So you'd rather stay lost than drop your stupid attitude and find the right way back? Fine by me, I'm leaving.  
By the way, there are bears and wolves in this forest." He turned on his feet and started walking away.  
"Bears?" Oikawa's voice suddenly filled with fear. "Quit joking, that's not funny. I got attacked by a bear before."  
"Must have been a half dead one, since you're sadly still with us."  
Oikawa clinched his fists. "I'm serious, I have a scar from it, wait! Iwa ... how does it go ... Iwa-chan, wait!"  
Iwaizumi froze on spot. A shiver sent down his spine, his eyes almost white. He turned to Oikawa who had run up to him by then. " _What_ did you just call me?"  
Oikawa backed off, crossing his arms in front of him. "You're scary."  
" _Do not_ call me that _ever_ again. My name is Iwaizumi." His features softened up a little but they were still sharp, stabbing Oikawa all over his body.  
"And I'm serious. There are bears in here."  
Oikawa lifted up his shirt, exposing his flat muscular body. "I'm serious, too, I was attacked by one."  
Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa's scar, extending from his chest down to his hip. The shade of his skin color was visibly different there and it looked like it probably hurt a lot.  
Iwaizumi turned around. "Sorry ..." he mumbled.  
"Is there reception here? I could use my gps," Oikawa announced as he pushed his clothes back where they were.  
"No, idiot, we're in the middle of nowhere. You can check the time, though." Iwaizumi tried not to bother with Oikawa's presence unless necessary. He was sick of fighting and he wanted to just enjoy his first high school camp and get to know other classmates, too.  
"Ah, it's almost eleven." Oikawa stared at his screen. "Hm ... There really is no reception here. We must be pretty deep in the forest since teacher told us to call if anything happens."  
"Oikawa, you're gonna fall." Iwaizumi had his hands in pockets but he was careful where he set his foot since they were walking down a very steep hill. Oikawa ... not so much.  
"Not now, _Iwa-chan_ , I'm trying to help us here. You could- Ngh."  
"Oi," Iwaizumi started to rage as he suddenly saw Oikawa slip by him, screaming for help.  
"Oi, stop!" he yelled. He sped up a little, careful not to fall himself as Oikawa managed to stop rolling down.  
He was crying in pain, hugging his left leg.  
"Are you okay, what happened?" Iwaizumi kneeled to him.  
"I slipped. You could have told me there was a root sticking out."  
"I _told_ you to be careful but you said _'not now Iwa-chan'_ and you fell. Where does it hurt?"  
"Ankle. It hurts like hell."  
"Take your shoe off." Iwaizumi looked at him expectantly.  
"I'm not taking my shoe off. You take your shoe off." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
"Shittykawa ... Do you want me to take it off?" He reached toward Oikawa's shoe as the pretty boy slapped his hands.  
"Shoo! I'll do it alone." He slowly took his designer shoe off his foot, wincing in pain.  
"Wow, it's already swollen. Mind if I touch it?" Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa.  
"Yes, of course I mind. Hands off me, you creep." Oikawa glared at Iwaizumi.  
"Fine," Iwaizumi leaned back relaxed. "Then you touch it and tell how much it hurts."  
"I was going to do that."  
Oikawa's fingers slowly reached toward his swollen area. He gulped before grabbing it and a second after, a scream filled the woods.

"I don't think I can walk."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the professor realized he made a smaller mistake.

"Do you think he killed him?" Mattsun asked, glancing toward the edge of the forest.  
"Which one now?" Makki asked. "Do you have the answer to question four?"  
"I'm not so sure, now that you asked," Mattsun turned his paper toward Hanamaki. "I mean ... They both seem capable of it."  
"Hajime? He's all harsh and that but I don't think he'd actually _kill_. Especially after this year." Hanamaki returned the paper.  
"Yeah ... you're right."  
"Though, on the other hand ... It's _Oikawa_ we're talking about." Hanamaki said. "It's all possible."  
Matsukawa snickered. "True. I'm way too lazy to do this paper."  
"Same. Let's make Hajime do it when he comes back."  
"Deal."

Iwaizumi and Oikawa stared at each other. Oikawa was still crying, because it hurt, and Iwaizumi was still more or less relaxed on the ground.  
"Well, I'm not gonna carry you," Iwaizumi clucked his tongue. "I wouldn't want to 'creep you out' or anything."  
Oikawa proudly raised his head. "Hmpf." He picked up his shoe. "Like I'd want you to. I can still go on my own." He stood up with the help of a tree.  
"Hmpf." He hopped away, slowly and awkwardly. Iwaizumi stretched his arms then stood up, letting out a satisfied sound.  
His hands in his pockets, he walked pass Oikawa lightly. "Well, let me know when you arrive, okay?" He winked before moving on, leaving Oikawa behind.  
"No, you have to wait for me! Iwa-chan! Come back, I'm telling you right now."  
"I told you not to call me that," Iwaizumi growled. "I'll throw a rock at you."  
"Agh!"  
Iwaizumi turned around to see what happened. As he predicted, Oikawa fell and wasn't able to move at all. Or perhaps he just didn't want to.

"Tch," Iwaizumi crouched before him. "Would you like me to carry you now?" Oikawa looked up at him, leaves in his hair and his face dirty. He nodded.  
"Hm ... I don't know, I'm missing something. I need something from you."  
Oikawa blinked. Then he gasped. "Okay, I'll pay you, just carry me."  
Iwaizumi was shocked. He didn't know if he should laugh or punch the idiot before him. " _Pay me_? Wow, you really are a fucking snob. You know what, forget it. All I wanted was a simple word. I don't know, maybe you haven't heard of it before but it's pronounced 'please'. Toodles." He waved at Oikawa, standing up.  
"Wait, please! Please carry me, I really can't walk. It hurts and it stings. Please," Oikawa begged on the floor.  
Iwaizumi sighed. "Good boy," he patted Oikawa's head and messed up his hair.  
"Are you ... Did you just ... I am not a dog!"  
"Right. You're a snake, right?" Iwaizumi replied as he picked him up.  
"No," Oikawa replied grumpily.  
"A hippo."  
"I am not a hippo! You're a hippo," Oikawa said, still crying. Probably not because he got called a hippo but because he was in such pain.  
"My clothes are all dirty. Is this ... _Oh no_ , I tore them! Oh my god, my pants! And my hair is a mess, I look like a homeless person. Oh my god. And my shoes are so dirty. It's not fair, Iwa-chan, I hate this." He cried into Iwaizumi's chest.  
"Call me that one more time and I'll drop you and I'll step on your ankle." Iwaizumi growled at him. "You're way too close," he pushed his face away quickly before holding back onto him so he didn't fall.  
"And stop crying. You're even uglier when you cry."

Back at the classroom where the rest of the group was, Hanamaki and Matsukawa chatted with some of their classmates. They made jokes and laughed; they had some free time before lunch.  
"Okay, everyone, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," the teacher announced. "Apparently, there's a storm coming _now_ so I'll have to ask you to put away anything you have outside and keep inside. I repeat, do not go outside. We don't want any accidents to happen."  
Mattsun and Makki looked at each other.  
"Professor," Makki called. "What about Iwaizumi and Oikawa? Have they returned yet?"  
The teacher's face went blank for a moment. "No. If they don't come back in half an hour, we'll send help after them. Now go, everyone, clean up after yourself. Let's meet in the restaurant on time, ok?"

Mattsun and Makki went straight to their room to remove the shirts and shorts they kept on the outside shelf. (Makki has basically moved to their room so all of his stuff was now there, too.)  
"Is he answering?" Makki asked.  
"No."  
"I'm pretty sure they're fine. For what we know, they could be having sex just now," Makki daydreamed as he lay on his bed.  
"You know who else could be having sex right now?" Matsukawa asked, sitting on Hanamaki. "Us."  
"Now?" Hanamaki laughed. "If you promise to stay quiet. I don't want any trouble."  
"Have I ever got you in trouble before?"  
"Oh, _never_."

Half an hour has passed and the duo still hasn't shown up. The storm had started fifteen minutes ago and it was pouring heavily but the rescue team was still sent.  
Their teacher didn't think things could get this serious but it was a young, inexperienced teacher with an intimidating aura; that was all, he had no experience with such troubled teens at all. He was seriously worried about them and about his job, too.  
Iwaizumi and Oikawa were put in the same class by a coincidence but they started off on the wrong foot the very first day -to the point they ended up before the principal- so the teacher was told to use any method to calm them down.  
But never did he think that the duo would cause that much trouble.

 _It was irresponsible of me to send them out there alone, I know,_ he told himself. _But if anything happens, the responsibility will be fully and completely mine._ Besides, he knew that Oikawa was going to make a fuss about it, being the rich spoiled brat of the class.

What to do? Will Oikawa and Iwaizumi actually find a way to work together in order to make it back safely, or will things go terribly wrong?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, no.

"Does it really hurt that much?" Iwaizumi asked as they stopped under a bigger tree to let Oikawa rest. The latter was panting in the air, tilting his head back.  
"Yes, I ... can't. It hurts so badly. I probably shouldn't move it at all but when you carry me it swings around." Oikawa wiped his wet face. "Could you walk differently? Don't hurt my leg even more."  
"Wha- it's not my fault! I can't walk differently than that, it's how I always do! If you don't like it, go on your own." He pouted.

For a minute or two, the two of them just pouted, each in their own direction. Then Iwaizumi seemed to think of something and he stood up.  
"Wait here."  
"Wait, where are you going? Iwa-chan, don't just go like that, what if I get hurt? Iwa-chan, _why are you ignoring me_ , come back!" He growled under his breath. "This guy really pisses me off. And I don't even know him."  
Oikawa looked back into Iwaizumi's direction. A loud thunder suddenly filled the sky and Oikawa closed his eyes in fear. He was so afraid of nature. He really freaking was.

Iwaizumi returned in a few minutes with two flat pieces of wood and long straps of some sort of plants.  
"I'm going to try and make your ankle still, okay? I don't know if it'll work but I can give it a shot."  
Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi speechless. He would do that? For him? Out of what, pure boredom?  
Oikawa pouted on. "Hmpf. Okay, do whatever you want. We need to move, though, so we can at least call for help."  
"My battery died already," Iwaizumi said as he put two pieces of wood on each side of Oikawa's ankle. "Can you hold it like this?"  
"You must have a super weak battery, then," Oikawa said as he pressed his hands on the wood. "My phone can last for _days_."  
"Then you must have a super old one, eh?" Iwaizumi replied as he tried strapping the wood to Oikawa's leg.  
"What?! No, that's totally not true. I have the latest model and it has a _huge_ battery and it's overall really great."  
"This won't work ..." Iwaizumi said in thought, oblivious to Oikawa's blabbering.  
"Say, Iwa-chan-"  
"Don't call me that."  
"Geh, now you hear me, huh?!  
How did you get to this school? Isn't it supposed to be like super elite and all? How would someone like _you_ end up here?"  
Iwaizumi looked up at Oikawa to yell at him for being impolite but he froze in kind of a shock. There was no trail of evil on Oikawa's face, pure curiosity and ambition written all over.  
"I was recommended," Iwaizumi replied, trying one more time with the plant straps. "By a volleyball coach."  
"Oh," Oikawa suddenly showed a lot more interest. "You play volleyball, too? I'm a setter, how about you?"  
Iwaizumi groaned. "Don't tell me I'm gonna have to look at your face at practice as well," he said. "Spiker. You know, I don't particularly like you."  
"Agh, why so mean all of a sudden?!"  
Iwaizumi shook his head. "Nope, this won't do. Do you have any piece of clothing you can sacrifice?" He asked, immediately regretting his question because of Oikawa’s reaction.  
"Wait, what? Are you for real? Do you _know_ how much this costs? Probably more than all of what you're wearing right now. Na-a. I'm not 'sacrificing' any of my clothes."  
Iwaizumi sighed. Heavily. "Fine. If I get sick, I don't want you to apologize even once. If you do, I'll beat you up."  
He took his jacket off first then his shirt. Oikawa only caught a slight flash of Iwaizumi's body before Iwaizumi quickly put his wet jacket back on.  
He rolled his shirt into a long strap but he quickly saw it wouldn't work.  
"What are you doing?" Oikawa asked.  
"Probably saving your leg," Iwaizumi replied as he tore his shirt in two. He managed to tie the wood to Oikawa's leg pretty quickly after that.  
"You can let go now, you know, it'll hold," he said.  
"Right," Oikawa pulled his hands to himself as Iwaizumi leaned to the tree right next to him.

A loud, threatening sound of thunder suddenly broke the sound of rain and Oikawa instinctively grabbed on Iwaizumi's arm.  
"Don't tell me you're afraid of thunder, too," Iwaizumi groaned.  
"I-I'm not!" Oikawa quickly pulled away. "Tch. Creep." He pushed himself up. "Come on, let's get going. I'm hungry."  
"Alright," Iwaizumi said. He took Oikawa in his arms again and carefully, slowly carried him through the rain. They made progress very slowly and everything around them was still pretty dark but Iwaizumi had hope they were going into the right direction.

Oikawa held tightly onto him every time a thunder called out and Iwaizumi kept telling him to calm down and get the fuck away.  
He coughed for the first time after about ten minutes.  
"You shouldn't have taken off your shirt, you know," Oikawa lectured.  
"Are you worried about me?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"No, but-"  
"Then shut up."  
Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi a bit frustrated but he soon looked away, slipping his gaze on the floor. He noted it wasn't the best idea to mess with him.

Something suddenly made a sound behind them and Oikawa widened his eyes in fear.  
"Iwa-chan," he whispered. "I don't wanna die yet."  
Iwaizumi turned around to see what was happening.  
"Oh, shit." It was a bear. "It's not looking our way. Maybe we can still hide. Maybe-"  
"It looked our way. I'm scared, what do we do?" Oikawa was on a verge of tears. Iwaizumi didn't know what to do.  
Everything was messed up.

Things weren't exactly calm in the hotel, either. Mattsun and Makki were getting impatient and worried, as well as some other students because Iwaizumi and Oikawa haven't returned yet.  
"What are we supposed to do, just sit back and wait?" Hanamaki asked the teacher who looked just as scared as anybody else.  
"Look, I know Iwaizumi-san is your dear friend but we're doing all we can to get them some help-"  
"No, you don't understand," Matsukawa said, his eyes staring straight into professor's. "Hajime lost his sister in a storm just like this."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwa-chan, are you okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly giving up the hope of ever being a good writer x)  
> thank you for your comments.

The storm was going wild and showed no sign of clearing up any time soon. People were starting to get very worried.

The teacher gulped at the information Mattsun has just told him. "I've been told, yes," he replied. "She went hiking, right?"  
Mattsun and Makki nodded. "She was nineteen."  
The teacher sighed in discomfort. He didn't know what to do. "So this must be a rather unpleasant environment for Iwaizumi-san out there right now?"  
Makki shrugged. "Well, I haven't seen him cry once but ..."  
"It could be troublesome. Please help them."  
The teacher nodded. "I will. You should get to your class now, I will go check up on the rescue team."

Hanamaki sighed into Matsukawa's shoulder. "If that brat didn't pick a fight with him yesterday, we'd be having fun right now."  
Matsukawa patted Hanamaki's back. "What do you mean? I'm sure he's having fun right now. He'd be back by now if he didn't, right?"  
Hanamaki snickered. "You suck balls when it comes to comforting people, do you know that?"  
"I do, don't I?"

"Shit, shit, Iwa-chan, I don't wanna die. Please run." Oikawa cried into Iwaizumi's shoulder while he tried not to keep eye contact with the bear - which seemed to be looking the other way anyway.  
"No, are you stupid? If we run, it's gonna run after us. Bears are actually very peaceful and nice. Unless it's hungry or with cubs, we're okay. It probably just didn't hear us because of the rain, or it would have avoided us." Iwaizumi kept his voice low, not to startle the bear. "Just don't make any sudden moves or loud noises."  
Oikawa slowly nodded, still crying.  
"Well, if it's hungry then ... I'm leaving you here as a distraction while I run off."  
"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa whispered but he held onto Iwaizumi as tight as ever.  
The bear didn't seem to be bothered by their presence that much, it actually didn't seem to care at all.  
It did start walking in their direction, though.  
"Iwa-chan ..." Oikawa cried while Iwaizumi slowly walked backwards, hoping he wouldn't bump into some bear behind him. That would have been unfortunate.  
The bear turned different way after only a few steps, slowly marching away. It probably tracked strawberries or ... well, more bears.

Oikawa exhaled loudly, relieved he was still alive.  
"It feels like my scar is hurting me really badly right now," he said.  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "You're not Harry Potter."  
"Nerd."  
"Scaredy-cat."  
"Idiot."  
"Dumbass. I told you there were bears here, though," Iwaizumi said while walking.  
"Don't be a smartass now," Oikawa said. "Hurry up, I'm very hungry."  
Iwaizumi growled. "You're also very heavy."  
"I'm about twice your size," Oikawa continued. "I'm surprised you can carry me, actually."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. He was about to yell at Oikawa again when a _beep_ interrupted their conversation.  
"Oh my god! Yes! Stop, let's go under that tree, my phone found reception. We can call people."  
"Alright," Iwaizumi carried Oikawa under the tree and dropped him on the floor while he sat next to him. He was cold and all wet and once he actually sat down, he felt quite exhausted. He coughed as Oikawa dialed the number.

"Yes, hello, professor? It's me, Oikawa.  
 _It's so terrible_ , I'm hungry and dirty and I look like a mess, oh, and my ankle really hurts-"  
"Give me that," Iwaizumi pulled the phone from Oikawa's hands despite his attempt to get it back.  
"Sensei? Iwaizumi here. We need help. Oikawa probably at least sprained his ankle but I immobilized it and we're currently resting under a tree."  
He waited for a few moments, pushing away Oikawa when he wanted to take his phone back. "Yes, that would be good. Um, there's really ... There's only trees around us." Iwaizumi looked around. "Wait, wait a second, please." He leaned the phone against his chest as he closed his eyes and listened carefully. "Is there a river somewhere in the forest?"  
He listened to the other side, occasionally murmuring a yes or a no. His look suddenly changed and he almost dropped his phone.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi's classmates were very happy when they heard their professor talking to them. Some of the girls squealed while the others mainly sighed with relief. Matsukawa and Hanamaki highfived.  
"Will you be okay, though, Iwaizumi-san?" the teacher suddenly asked. "Because of your sister."  
A shorter silence fell on the line and the professor was worried he'd lost them already.  
 _"Yes. We'll wait here as you said."_ Iwaizumi hung up.

The professor gulped at himself, thinking he probably shouldn't have asked that. But he turned to his students with a smile on his face.  
"Good news, everyone. They're okay. They should be back in no time."

Iwaizumi handed his phone to Oikawa without a word.  
"Huh?" Oikawa tilted his head. "Are you okay? What was that?"  
"They told us not to move. There's a team looking for us and we should be fine." He hugged his knees and leaned his head on his arms.  
"Okay," Oikawa said. "Did something happen?"  
Iwaizumi coughed again, this time more than the last time. "I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you," he said. "I lost my sister a few weeks before high school. She died in a storm very similar to this one. The professor just reminded me of it."  
Oikawa parted his lips in shock. "Eeehh?! Are you okay, I mean-"  
"As long as I have someone unreasonably freaking out about everything next to me, I'm fine. You're a perfect panic freak right now."  
"I'm not a panic freak!" Oikawa protested. He pouted just a moment after. He didn't know what to say or what to do.  
"If you make this awkward now I swear I'm going to slam you against this tree," Iwaizumi glared at him. He pulled up the collar of his jacket, coughing more.

"Are you okay? You look really pale, you know," Oikawa said.  
"I'm fi-" Iwaizumi panted as he started coughing violently. "Fine," he finished his sentence in the middle of his attack.  
"What are you doing? Get off," he tried shoving Oikawa away.  
"You're burning," Oikawa announced. "Do you feel dizzy?"  
"Only a little. Stop worrying, it's weird."

Oikawa crossed his arms. "Hmpf. You're still an idiot."  
"Spoiled brat."  
"Stupiiiid. Ble ble ble."  
"I'm gonna kick your ass!"  
"I can't hear you, ble ble ~"

 _"Oi!"_ They suddenly heard a call. _"Oi, Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san!"_  
They both sat up a bit more straight.  
"Here!" they both yelled at the same time.  
"Not fair, they called your name first."  
"Are you for real right now you idiot just wait until we get back."  
"Heee, like I'm scared of you. Geh, creepy! Don't look at me like that!"

After a few more calls, they saw a group of people coming their way. Iwaizumi and Oikawa felt so relieved that they nearly cried with joy.  
"Are you alright?" A middle-aged man asked them as he crouched down.  
"His ankle's hurt," Iwaizumi replied before Oikawa could start blabbering. "I'm fine."  
"No, no he's not," Oikawa protested as two people helped him up. "He's sick. He took his shirt off and got all wet and cold."  
"I'm okay," Iwaizumi stated, getting up on his own. He stood up too fast, almost collapsing back on the ground.  
"Na, what did I say," Oikawa clucked his tongue.  
"Shut up," Iwaizumi shouted, standing back up with the help of the team. "I'm ..." His vision blurred a little before he coughed again.  
"Iwa-chan?" was the last thing he heard before he lost his conscious and fell into the arms of a younger woman from the team.

"Does he need cpr?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Would you like a tissue?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the real plot begins about now

"Ngh-nnnnghhhh ..."  
"Ah, he's waking up!"  
Iwaizumi slowly opened his eyes, more or less unable to move his heavy head. His ears were still ringing a bit and he found himself tucked in under at least two warm blankets.  
"What ... What the fuck ..."  
"Iwaizumi-san, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked him. The teacher, Makki, Mattsun and Oikawa were also in the room.  
The first three were standing by his bed. Oikawa was put safely in his own bed as well and he seemed unusually quiet.  
"I'm ... My head is heavy. And it hurts. But I'm okay." He tried sitting up.  
"Nope," Mattsun and Makki pushed him right back down.  
"Eh ... Do you mind explaining to me how I ended up here? Because I don't remember."  
"You passed out," the doctor explained. "You probably got sick because you spent so much time in the rain so you should rest for the next few days, but it's nothing serious. Make sure you take medicine and drink enough. And eat properly."  
Iwaizumi closed his eyes for a second.  
"O-okay ..." He wasn't really himself yet. Oikawa just quietly watched from his bed.  
"Your parents sadly can't come but they were notified and wish you all the best." Iwaizumi's professor still seemed a bit shocked but he was really, _really_ relieved that at the end of the day, everything was _okay_ with the two students.  
"Can I get something for my headache?" Iwaizumi asked. "It's killing me."  
Mattsun and Makki exchanged looks. It must have been really awful if Iwaizumi asked for medicine on his own.  
"Of course," the doctor replied.

After Iwaizumi confirmed for the tenth time that he really did feel okay, the visitors decided it was time to leave.  
"Will you be okay?" Mattsun asked.  
"You know, with ... _him_ ," Makki gestured his head toward Oikawa who pretended not to notice.  
Iwaizumi blinked, only then realizing there was another person in the room.  
"Right ... I'll be fine."  
"Okay, cause ... Apparently you're sharing this room until you get better," Makki waved goodbye before disappearing with Mattsun.  
"Wait, what?" Iwaizumi facepalmed. That was the last thing he needed.

"Well," Oikawa spoke as the door closed, visibly hurt. "I won't bother you." He smiled at Iwaizumi before turning around to his side and showed him his back.  
Iwaizumi bit his tongue. His reaction was a little rude, he knew that. He also knew that the smile Oikawa shot him could win 'most dramatic moment' if this were a drama or perhaps a movie.  
But he suddenly felt angry. He huffed, turned to his side -showing his back to Oikawa- and tried to fall asleep.

He slept for two hours. When he woke up, he felt a little better already. As he slowly managed to sit up, he saw Oikawa reading a book; he was wearing glasses. Iwaizumi watched him for a few moments before the pretty boy noticed him and looked up.  
Iwaizumi quickly looked away. But he looked back at Oikawa, not knowing how to start a conversation.

"I just wanted to thank you," Oikawa spoke. "And-"  
"No problem," Iwaizumi waved it off but he didn't mean to cut Oikawa off like that.  
"Right," the setter smiled again, centering his look back at the book.  
"No, wait, what were you going to say?"  
"Nothing," Oikawa replied. "It doesnt matter."  
Iwaizumi smacked his own forehead in despair. "You can't be serious.  
How's your ankle?"  
"Sprained. But thanks to you, nothing serious." Oikawa replied while still staring at his book. He probably wasn't reading it for real, though.  
"Ah, okay."

For the next few minutes there was an awkward silence.  
"You know, about that bear," Oikawa quietly started. "The one we ran into ... Would you like to know about it?"  
Iwaizumi shrugged, slightly surprised at Oikawa's sudden level of politeness. "Sure."  
"We happened to run into an escaped bear that is blind. It was kept just a few kilometers away and it escaped about two days ago. That's why it didn't attack. It couldn't see us."  
Iwaizumi nodded. "Where's the bear now?"  
"They caught it." Oikawa sighed, putting his book away. "By the way, you ruined my phone. The colors aren't the same anymore."  
Iwaizumi squinted his eyes. "... What. You mean, _the rain_ and all that ruined your phone. Not me."  
Here we go again, back to normal.  
"But it was you who took it away from me!"  
"You were talking about your _looks_ , it was nonsense!"  
"Oh, right. Cause that's what I am. Nonsense, right? Do you think I can't function normally just because I'm a little socially higher than you are?"  
"Wow, wait, we're talking about this again? Are you even listening to yourself?  
You got us lost in the first place!"  
"I disagree."  
"Of course you disagree. Because you're never wrong, right? You live the perfect life. Well guess what, _I don't_. Shut up, Oikawa. You're really getting on my nerves right now. Shut up. Or I'll hit you. And I mean it." Oikawa opened his mouth already but Iwaizumi was very serious about his statement. "Just shut up. And don't talk to me."

Since Iwaizumi was sick, they brought him dinner in bed but Oikawa said he'd rather go to the dining room and eat with everyone else. He quickly found a spot within the girls, entertaining them while most of other boys more or less glared his way.  
Oikawa didn't seem to bother.  
"Oikawa-san, is your ankle alright?"  
"What happened to you, Oikawa-kun?"  
"Is it true that Iwaizumi-san pushed you?"  
"I thought he looked scary from the beginning ..."  
"Ah, no, no, it's not like that," Oikawa replied with a smile. "Let's talk about something else, okay?"

Hanamaki and Matsukawa sat next to Oikawa after they were done eating.  
"So basically, you led yourself and our friend to the _other_ side of the forest if I heard correctly?" Makki asked.  
Oikawa had finished eating as well. He wanted to leave but he didn't want to go to his room. He felt slightly uncomfortable. "And I apologized already," he replied. "I'm not doing that again."  
"It's not what we came for," Mattsun replied. "We just came to make fun of you."  
Oikawa forced a smile toward them. "Thank you for your concern," he said while standing up.  
"Iwaizumi has been through a lot," Mattsun said and stopped Oikawa with his words. "Give him a rest."  
"Just stop bothering him for a little," Makki added.  
"But I didn't do anything ..." Oikawa started.  
"Just leave him alone."  
Oikawa felt attacked. He didn't understand why they would talk to him like that.

He felt very, very disappointed. He felt his chest pressuring him and he wanted to move as fast as he could with that sprained ankle.  
When he arrived to his room, Iwaizumi didn't show any sign of being awake. So Oikawa picked up his phone and dialed a number while slowly starting to sob.  
 _"Hello?"_  
"Mom, this is too hard," Oikawa sobbed into the phone. "There's this kid, Iwa- _whatever_ and he's been so mean to me since the first day and now his friends told me not to talk to him anymore but I really didn't do anything ..." He paused. "I _am_ calm! I know, I'm trying. No, I don't want it to be like that again ... Oh my god, can you be even less supportive?! _It's not my fault_ , I don't even know this person ..." He paused again and moved his phone a little further from his ear since his mother didn't seem exactly pleasant anymore.  
"Do you even know what happened today? Did they tell you? I ran into a _bear_ , mom. I sprained my ankle and I-" He listened. Then he quietly nodded. "Fine. Have fun, good night." He hung up and threw his phone on the nightstand next to him. "Thanks for not caring," he whispered as he sobbed again.

But Iwaizumi, in fact, wasn't asleep. He just happened to lie down because he felt a bit worse again but he was turned toward the wall so Oikawa naturally couldn't see his face.  
Iwaizumi heard all of the conversation and only pressed his lips together in a thin line. He wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't just pretend it never happened. He was bad at pretending.

So he sat up.

Oikawa immediately stopped sobbing and quickly wiped his tears from his face. "How much did you hear?" he asked hopefully.  
"Enough," Iwaizumi looked at him the way he never had before. He looked at him softly, with pain mirroring his eyes. "Everything, actually."  
Oikawa burried his face between his palms. "Oh god, this is embarrassing. You're gonna tell everyone, aren't you?"  
Iwaizumi quietly reached his hand toward Oikawa.

"Would you like a tissue?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Thank you."

"Idiot!"  
"Weakling!"  
"Stupid glasses-kun, haha, you're so ugly!"  
"You look so girly, why don't you wear a skirt, huh?"  
"What's that on your teeth?"  
Kids could really be mean. Oikawa Tooru knew that.  
Even though his parents were very rich and influent people, their second child was still just a little boy with long hair, glasses and unfortunate braces.  
He was heavily bullied in school.

"Mom, I can't do this, I don't want to go to school anymore!" he cried almost every day.  
"Why do I have to wear glasses? Why can't I just be like everyone else? Please don't make me go to school anymore!" He was desperate to the point he begged on his knees.  
"Why do I need to wear these stupid braces? I hate them, I want to rip them off!" He hated his appearance. He hated the freckles he had as a child and everyone made fun of and he hated his girly features.  
His mother told him that longer hair would hide his glasses and help cover up the fact he had braces. But it only made the mean children call him girly and such stuff.  
"Please, mom, can I stay home?" He kept asking the same questions over and over again.

"Get over it."

That was the same answer he got, again and again until one day he lost it.  
It happened in his second year of middle school when he had finally had enough of his pathetic self. He broke down in school and he refused to leave the bathroom.  
They had to call his parents and take him home. Of course, his family thought it was an absolute _horror_ that they had to pick him up because now everyone _knew_. They immediately took him to a doctor as if he was mentally unstable. And that was probably the very last thing the boy felt like enduring. So he changed drastically.

He replaced his glasses with contacts, and only kept them in case his eyes started hurting. He cut his hair short, started practicing like crazy and the only thing remaining were his braces.  
Luckily, he got rid of them just about a month before high school.

"You really changed, haven't you?" His older brother asked as he met the new, cooler version of Oikawa Tooru.  
"Guess I really did," the setter replied, flashing the silly smile which used to be considered girly.  
“Who would’ve thought you aren’t _that_ pathetic after all,” his brother teased. But nobody ever said a bad word about him in school again.

His confidence grew over the summer as his family moved to a different prefecture, where nobody knew about his past or any of his flaws.  
Oikawa Tooru started making friends, lots of friends. He started living the life of a spoiled brat, creating a wall around himself to protect himself from evil people.

"Oikawa-kun, you're so perfect!"  
"Really incredible, how do you get your skin to be so soft?"  
"Eeeehhh, is that Oikawa Tooru, the most skilled setter from Tokyo? I heard he's a real snob but I'd still like to meet him!"  
"Oikawa-san, you're so beautiful!"  
People have always been two-faced. Oikawa Tooru knew. He trusted nobody, living on his lonely island instead - at the same time he craved affection, to belong to someone. To be loved.  
Nobody would have paid attention to the old, younger Oikawa Tooru with freckles and glasses. Nobody would have given a _single shit_ about his well-being or his self-respect.  
Everybody saw only his name, his looks and his parents' wealth. Nobody was by his side simply because.

There was, however, one person. Who didn't seem to care. Who seemed to _hate_ everything about him, his attitude, his innocent image and _especially_ the self-awarness of how much _better_ he was than everybody else.

Someone who saw through.

Had Oikawa's wall started to crack? An innocent look broke through his thick castle of glass, his ultimate weapon against evil. A person simply looking at him because he was crying, not because he was smiling.  
Someone who didn't ask _why_ or _how_ and didn't tell him to _get over it_.  
Someone who honestly told him when he was being an idiot.  
A person that has only known him for a couple of days but already knew about his near-death experience.

Iwaizumi Hajime.

"Would you like a tissue?"

Oikawa stared at him with his eyes screaming out emotion, his mind telling him to run - or hop away with that ankle. His lips slightly parted as water started filling his eyes, blurring his vision.  
It felt like forever had passed.  
It felt like his cold, frozen heart was shattered into a million pieces with one single look, five innocent words and a gesture.  
Why would someone _care_?  
Why would a guy like this, a guy Oikawa made fun of and called out for being poor more than once ... a guy that lost his consciousness because he helped him ... Why would he even consider offering him help after _all that_?

After he expressed discomfort for being put in the same room. After he expressed a wish to hit him. After his friends told Oikawa to stay away?

Their eyes only met for a few moments, locking gazes, but it all flew through Oikawa's head as he stared at that dark color, sucking the very last of his old self away.

"Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're closing yourself!"  
> "Am not!"  
> "You're awkward, oh my god, adorable!"  
> "I'm not! Are you taking a photo?!"

Oikawa thankfully took the tissue from Iwaizumi's hand. Then he turned away.  
"I'm not supposed to be talking to you. I'm sorry I caused you trouble. You need rest now, so I'll leave you alone."  
Iwaizumi tilted his head. Somehow, looking at Oikawa like that, his sickness seemed to disappear. "It's alright," he said. "But if you don't mind, I could use some rest. We can talk tomorrow. We're stuck in this room anyway, right?" He smiled.  
"Yeah ..." Oikawa paused for a second. "Ngh, fuck."  
"Everything okay?"  
Oikawa nodded while standing up. "Mm, yes. I just forgot to brush my teeth." He froze. "Have you been to this bathroom before?"  
Iwaizumi sighed. "Yes, I saw all of it. I won't tell anyone if you stop acting like a piece of crap."  
Oikawa blinked. He wasn't sure how to reply so he just nodded and headed toward the bathroom.  
"And by the way," Iwaizumi said before Oikawa disappeared. "I used to wear braces when I was ten, too."  
Oikawa smiled to himself.

Yes. Iwaizumi knew. Even though there was no way to tell Oikawa wore a piece of metal inside his mouth all the time unless you shoved your tongue in there, Iwaizumi naturally understood how Oikawa felt.

And Oikawa found that extremely creepy, even though it was, in a way ... comforting.

When Oikawa returned from the bathroom, Iwaizumi was already asleep. Oikawa felt exhausted after a long day as well and immediately fell asleep, too. After all, he had run into a bear and torn his favorite pants.

"Oikawa ..."  
It was six am.  
"Oikawa, I'm going to fucking shoot you."  
Oikawa locked his phone. "Sorry, I can't sleep."  
"Please don't make noise. Use earphones." Iwaizumi groaned, turning to the other side.  
"Sorry. Sleep tight."

At around eight am the hotel nurse came to check on Iwaizumi and Oikawa.  
"Um, professor said to tell you that, um, what did he say ..." She seemed very shy and clumsy. "You'll be staying in your room today, um ... And in the evening he wants to talk to you both. E-em, g-get along, please," she said.  
The professor must have told her how badly they got along.  
"Understood," they replied in unison, making it look like they were in perfect sync.

Once the nurse left, Iwaizumi shot a glare toward Oikawa. "I couldn't sleep normally because of you. Do you realize you talk in your sleep? _A lot._ "  
"Sorry about that," Oikawa shrugged. "I couldn't sleep either so we're even."  
Iwaizumi grumped. "No, that doesn't make any sense."

...

"Do I really have to be here with you the entire day?"  
"Bleee, fine, I won't disturb you," Oikawa drastically turned away.  
"Wasn't one day enough ..." Iwaizumi facepalmed. "You're really joining the volleyball team then?"  
"Yup," Oikawa threw a peace at Iwaizumi. "So we better get along," he sang.  
"You stink."  
"I don't stink!"  
Oikawa crossed his arms and turned away.  
"Are you gonna sulk?""  
"Hmpft."  
"Fine, child." Iwaizumi picked up his phone. "I'm calling my mom now so sulk on, I prefer it, actually."

In a few moments, a hello came from the other side and Iwaizumi smiled. He always smiled when he talked to his mother.  
"How's dad?" he asked after a few minutes. He only nodded at a reply _as if_ she could see him.  
Oikawa curiously listened to the conversation while he pretended that he was still sulking.  
"I'm okay. A lot better than yesterday, actually. Mattsun and Makki aren't with me right now because I still have to stay in bed but I'll say hi later. I-"  
"Is this Iwa-chan's mom?!" Oikawa suddenly attacked Iwaizumi. He jumped on his bed, speaking loudly into the phone and making cute sounds.  
"Get off, idiot," Iwaizumi pushed him away. "You're gonna hurt your ankle even more, are you insane?  
No, mom, that's a classmate. He's a bit unstable."  
"Don't listen to him, Ms Iwa-chan! I'm his friend, Oikawa-" ... Tooru.  
He stopped. He looked away.  
He had never before declared himself somebody's friend like that.  
Ever since transformation, other people declared him their friend but he had not even once called himself so.  
Iwaizumi used the moment to push him off the bed. He didn't seem to notice the 'special title' at all as he casually continued the conversation with his mom.  
He ended the call in a few minutes, though, because his mom had a job interview.

"My mom says you sound adorable," Iwaizumi said. "I'll make her meet you so she can take those words back. And we're not friends, Shittykawa. Don't make things up."  
He covered himself back - Oikawa successfully destroyed his bed, too.  
The pretty boy kept on the floor, deeply in thought.  
"Are you gonna camp there? Just saying, but it might rain. Kicks. I'd move if I were you."  
"Hm ..." Oikawa thought. "Your mom sounds very nice, I'll gladly meet her!" he shoved up an 'ok' sign and Iwaizumi grimaced.  
"When you say it like that, it sounds wrong!"  
"Only you understand it like that, Iwa-chan."  
"Don't call me that!"

"About yesterday ..." Iwaizumi said awkwardly.  
"Ay, what's with the sudden topic change?!" Oikawa asked, all frustrated.  
"Shut it. I just wanted to say that ... I'm sorry I couldn't take better care of your ankle." He was slightly blushing while apologizing because he felt a little awkward about it. He looked away, too.  
Oikawa's eyes almost went white when Iwaizumi finished. He only sat for two seconds, shocked. Then he started shaking his head and dramatically denying his words with his hand gestures.  
"No, no, no, _I_ should be apologizing, if anyone! Hm, let me start thinking ... I made fun of you because you're so poor-"  
"It's not like I live on a street!" Iwaizumi growled but Oikawa didn't bother to acknowledge him.  
"I led us the wrong way and you got sick because of me! There's probably a bunch of stuff I did as well and I'm sorry, I really am." He looked at Iwaizumi, honestly.  
Iwaizumi scanned him with a pout.  
So this guy, Oikawa ... wasn't a complete ass?

"Well, I was gonna bring that up, too, yeah," Iwaizumi blabbered with his arms crossed.  
"You're closing yourself!"  
"Am not!"  
"You're awkward, oh my god, adorable!"  
"I'm not! Are you taking a photo?! Oikawa, you trash, I'm going to kill you!" Iwaizumi growled at him, while the setter chuckled, sticking his tongue out.

_Clap, clap._

"I'm glad you're getting along," the professor said, with an uncomfortable smile on his face.  
"Eek!" The boys jumped up because they hadn’t noticed him enter. Which would have been uncomfortable, had they been doing something else.  
"It's not what it looks like!"  
"We're best friends already!"  
The teacher scanned them closely before tilting his head to the side. "Iwaizumi, aren't you sick?"  
"Nope, I'm all better. But I was told to stay in bed for today, just in case."  
"I see ... And you, Oikawa? How's your ankle?"  
Oikawa pouted. "Hmpf, my ankle is better but not _fine_. You know, I told my mom about it and she was not happy to hear it. I'll make sure you get a good scolding after you-"  
"Oi, Crappykawa," Iwaizumi glared at the pretty boy. "Stop bullshitting, it's not like one of us died."  
"We could have! And how am I supposed to practice now?"  
"It's actually why I came here," the professor spoke. "I'm terribly sorry for making you go outside alone," he said. He suddenly deeply bowed. "Forgive me!"  
Iwaizumi and Oikawa both sat in their beds speechlessly. Was this guy for real? None of them imagined a professor would ever be apologizing to them like that.  
The first one to recover was Iwaizumi. "N-no, no ... It's okay ... If this idiot didn't use his 'gps', we'd be fine."  
"Hey! It was actually _you_ who chose the wrong way, remember?" Oikawa pouted at Iwaizumi.  
"No, it was you! You and your stupid gps that doesn't work."  
"Better than your brain that also doesn't work."  
"OI, I'm going to break your ankle!"  
"Bleeee!"

The professor desperately sighed.  
"Hopeless," he whispered before he straightened back up. His face was all intimidating and his aura darkened up again.  
"You two," he spoke with his deep voice. Oikawa and Iwaizumi froze in their actions and slowly looked at him. "I'll be back in the evening. If you two don't get along by then ... I'm sending you home." With those words he exited the room and left the duo paralyzed on the bed.

"Y-y-you idiot!"  
"How is it my fault?!"  
"You started it!"  
"No, I didn't!" ... "Okay, maybe I did but it doesn't compare to all the times _you_ started!"  
As they were, they immediately started fighting again.  
"We need to get along by the evening."  
"Can we pretend?" Iwaizumi asked, leaning back in his bed.  
"No," Oikawa answered. "He didn't buy it for a second. Maybe because we made it really obvious, but ..." Oikawa had another reason behind it.  
"I ... want to become your friend for real, Iwaizumi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love ending my chapters like this. and i'm not even sorry.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Turns out he's not _that_ big of an asshole."

"Eeeeeehh, I wonder how they're coping," Matsukawa asked as he passed a ball to one of the classmates.  
"Hajime and Oikawa? You spend way too much time thinking about them, are you in love?" Hanamaki teased.  
"That's not what I meant! Besides, I'm already in love with you ..." he mumbled.  
"Aww, Mattsun, so cute!" Hanamaki grinned at his classmate who only got mad at him; just for a second, though.  
"Watch out!" he heard a girl scream before he got hit in the head with the ball.  
"Are you okay?" she ran up to him with a worried expression.  
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry ... Isn't basketball fun?" he smiled.  
"You should sit this one out, maybe," the girl suggested but Mattsun waved his hand.  
"No, no. I'm fine."  
Makki put his hand on his own hip. "You totally should. Don't worry, I'll play for both uf us," Makki stuck his tongue at Mattsun. He only rolled his eyes before he went to sit on a bench next to the court.

"They're having so much fun ..." Oikawa sighed. He watched his classmates through the window.  
"How about you go back to bed and rest?" Iwaizumi said, visibly irritated.  
"Iwa-chan, do you ever feel like you're being pulled down by a very heavy object and you can't seem to move back up?" Oikawa suddenly turned to Iwaizumi.  
"What's that about ... And stop with the name."  
"That's how I feel when I'm not able to play around freely. This ankle doesn't really matter to me. I just want to get out and play." Oikawa sighed again, turning back to the window. He stretched to a hanger to grab his jacket.  
"Oi, what are you doing?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"I'm going out. I can't be kept in here for so long," Oikawa answered as he took off his jumper to find another piece of clothing.  
"You know, it may not seem important to you now but in two years or so, you'll be asking yourself just why you didn’t let it heal properly back then. Stop, where are you going?" Iwaizumi got out of his bed.  
"Iwa-chan, thank you for your concern, really, but I can't stay in here. At least let me move a little."  
"But you _can't_. Where are you going, stop." He managed to grab Oikawa by his wrist and stopped him. He was about to yell at him when his eye caught something else on Oikawa's arm.  
He pulled it closer to himself and widened his eyes. "Oikawa, are you ..."  
"No," he pulled his arm back to himself. "That was in middle school. I'm over it. This is from a dog, though," he pointed to a smaller scar that was a little different from the rest.  
"Animals really don't like you, do they," Iwaizumi teased.  
"They do! This one was a pure accident!"  
"Anyhow, you better not be up to anything like this now ..." Iwaizumi sent him a warning glare. "I'll hit you if you do anything."  
Oikawa shivered. "You're scary when you're worried."  
"I'm not worried, I'm just-"  
"So, I'm going now. Have fun ~" Oikawa zipped his jacked and hopped toward the door with the help of his crutches.  
Iwaizumi crossed his arms on his chest. "I thought you wanted to become my friend," he said, stopping Oikawa from moving any further.  
The setter smiled to himself. "Yoshi," he said. "I'll be staying with you, then."

Two hours or so later, the two of them casually talked in Oikawa's bed, discussing this and that. Oikawa managed to get Iwaizumi to sit next to him somehow. He probably blackmailed him with that photo he took.  
"Hajime, have you killed that-" Mattsun and Makki froze on spot at the sight.  
"Are we interrupting something?" Makki asked.  
"Ah, no, come in," Iwaizumi said. Oikawa felt a little uncomfortable but he did his best not to show it.  
Makki closed the door behind them before joining the group.  
"Are you sure you feel better? Are you high on medicine?" Mattsun asked, pressing a hand against Iwaizumi's forehead.

"Ayy, stop that," Iwaizumi pushed him away.  
"What's going on? I'm confused." Makki leaned on Mattsun.  
"Turns out he's not _that_ big of an asshole," Iwaizumi said. "You're still trash, though."  
"Hmpf," Oikawa sulked away.  
"Oh, so we're making new friends, I see," Matsukawa said. "We just told him to buzz off yesterday, way to ruin our image, Hajime. Or should I say ... _Iwa-chan_?"  
Iwaizumi blushed as he heard the name. "Why do you know about this stupid nickname?! _Oikawa_ , I'm really going to kick you somewhere!"  
"Stop saying that," Oikawa mumbled.  
Matsukawa and Hanamaki laughed. "You two are really interesting. So, I guess you're a part of our group now, huh?" Hanamaki looked at Oikawa.  
He looked a bit to the left. "I guess ..."  
Then he looked up and smiled. "Please treat me well!"

"It's so weird when you're polite."  
"Hey, I actually have some manners, you know!"  
"Where, you forgot them in Tokyo?"  
"Tokyo?"  
" _Iwa-chan_ , you promised not to tell anyone!"  
"I didn't say anything."

Building new friendships has been a piece of cake for Oikawa, since he’d sorted himself out. However, with Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa it felt like he didn't really need to build anything at all.  
He was accepted right away. That is, after him and Iwaizumi managed to get on the same ground, somehow.  
It was all about his approach, he figured.

So it was wrong to call people poor? Was his attitude actually that obnoxious?  
Oikawa hadn’t realized that before. It had clearly needed to be thrown at his face, which Iwaizumi had successfully managed to do.  
But what was in it for him? For Iwaizumi?  
He wasn't lonely, unlike Oikawa. At least he didn't seem to be. And he was a completely different kind of a person than him.  
He also showed no interest in his money ...

Perhaps Iwaizumi just felt like that was what he needed to do. Or maybe he was just being nice because he didn't want to get sent home.  
Oikawa didn't know. But he decided to enjoy his friendship as long as he could, even if only for a bit.  
He just wanted to have a friend ... for a little while.

"Hey, this guy's apparently a setter, he's also joining the volleyball team." Iwaizumi poked Oikawa. "Are you listening?"  
"Huh, ah, yes. Let's get along," he sang.  
"You don't need to say that so many times," Matsukawa said. "I'm looking forward to playing with you, though."  
"Mhm, me too," Hanamaki added.  
"I'll see how good you are." Iwaizumi crossed his arms.  
"Eh, do you actually have to be so hard on him?"  
"You're the one who initiated this friendship, you know."  
"He's always so mean."  
"Only to you, Shittykawa."

"Please don't use that name anymore!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi doesn't know about Stargate and Oikawa isn't gay.

"We now have a competition among gay couples," Matsukawa said when him and Hanamaki sat down for lunch.  
"Do you think?" Makki asked.  
"Yeah. I think they don't know it, though," Mattsun said with his usual uninterested expression.  
Makki laughed. "You're an idiot."  
"What else is new?"

"What?" Iwaizumi asked as he saw Oikawa grimacing at his plate.  
"J'aime pas, I don't like this." He pushed his plate away and turned on his side, taking his phone.  
"What, are you serious? Are you gonna stay hungry?"  
Iwaizumi was already enjoying his meal even though his appetite hadn't quite returned yet.  
Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi like he just fell on his head. "Of course not. I texted Mattsun and they're going to bring me milk bread."  
"Wait. You _texted_ Mattsun? Even I don't have your number." Iwaizumi looked irritated.  
Oikawa narrowed his eyebrows. "Ohoho? Do you want my number, too, Iwa-chan?"  
"No way. I'll pass."  
While Iwaizumi quietly enjoyed his lunch, Oikawa sulked the other way.

Iwaizumi started coughing, choking in a way. It made Oikawa turn back to him and even sit up.  
"Are you okay?"  
Iwaizumi nodded. "Yes, you just might wanna ... You have a tattoo?"  
Oikawa blushed, quickly shoving his clothes back down.  
"That's, uh ... Yeah. I was a very ... rebellious kid back then."  
"Back _when_? You _are_ a kid now," Iwaizumi spoke.  
"Am not!" Oikawa groaned but he sighed. "I got it like ... A few months before high school. I thought it would look cool."  
"It does." Iwaizumi shrugged but he just shot another glare at Oikawa when he saw how his eyes sparkled. "Shut up," he said before Oikawa even started.  
"So rude, I haven't said anything! Though ... I would appreciate it if you kept this information from my mom or my dad ..." Oikawa stretched in his bed.  
"I have absolutely no intentions of talking to your mom, ever. Or your dad. Or your brother." Iwaizumi put his plate away as well because he couldn't eat anymore.

Oikawa rolled his eyes.  
"Wait, how did you even get it then? You need permission for that."  
"Well ..."  
"Oh god, Oikawa, you're so stupid."  
Oikawa chuckled. "You still like it, though."  
"I didn't say I like it! It's not like I like it on _you_ or anything ... I just think it looks cool. What is it, though?"  
Oikawa blinked at Iwaizumi. "What ... What is it? It's only ... You know, it's only a volleyball going through the Stargate. No big deal. Just that." Oikawa's eyes popped out into Iwaizumi's direction. "You _don't know Stargate_?!"  
"Sorry?"  
" _NO_ , there's no apology for that, we're watching it today."  
"Oh, we are?" Iwaizumi narrowed his eyebrows.  
"We are?"  
"Oho?"

Mattsun and Makki entered the room, tossing the milk bread to Oikawa.  
"This _uneducated friend of yours_ doesn't know Stargate!" Oikawa exclaimed, visibly frustrated about it.  
"Excuse him," Makki said. "He lives under a rock."  
"I don't," Iwaizumi replied, glaring.  
"Calm down, though," Mattsun snickered. "We're only allowed to see you for ten minutes and then we have to go to class."  
"But I see you're already making plans together, huh?" Makki teased.  
"Oikawa, are you gay," Mattsun asked, flopping himself on his bed.

"What?" The setter asked confused. "Obviously not. I'm _pan_."  
"You are?"  
"You are?"  
"You _are_?"  
The most surprised of the three was Iwaizumi. His reaction was a bit louder than the other two, though, so he quickly backed off when the other three looked at him.

"Well, I mean ... I can't be _sure_ yet, I've only been thinking about it recently but it really doesn't matter to me." He shrugged.  
Mattsun and Makki exchanged looks.  
"Well I know about someone who's also struggling with his sexual orientation," Makki wiggled his eyebrows toward Iwaizumi.  
The latter slightly blushed on his bed. "What are you saying, of course I'm not ... Get out, you have class."

" _Ohoho,_ what have we here? Stage one; denial, my friend."  
"It's okay, though, we'll help you through."  
Makki and Mattsun tried petting Iwaizumi's cheeks but the smallest of the three just pushed them away and sent them out of the room.  
They waved at the duo, laughing before they closed the door behind them.

Iwaizumi still seemed a little angry.  
"Iwa-chan," Oikawa started. "Did you think I was straight?"  
Iwaizumi turned the other way. "It doesn't matter what I thought. Go get that stupid Stargate now. I'm bored."  
Oikawa chuckled. "Okay. Well, if you ever feel like experimenting-"  
"I _don't_ , especially not with you, you ... Shittykawa." He kept turned away to hide his furious blush.  
Iwaizumi, gay? No, that wasn't possible. It was just Mattsun and Makki's stupid idea.

"Do you think we went too far?"  
"Nah, we just established the ground for them."  
Makki and Mattsun held hands as walking down the hall to their meeting spot.  
"Established my ass, he's gonna kill us as soon as he can," Makki laughed.  
"I must say, though, I did not think the pretty boy was pan." Mattsun seemed in thought.  
"Yeah, that kinda surprised me, too," Makki said. "Well," he shrugged.  
"At least that means one half is ready to go." Mattsun winked.

After some arguing, Iwaizumi gave in and pushed his and Oikawa's bed together so they could, apparently, watch Stargate more comfortably.  
It quickly turned into arm squeezing and squealing from Oikawa's side, along with his explanations of the plot and the characters.  
Iwaizumi just wanted to watch quietly, in peace.

"Oikawa, shut up," he said. "I can read the subtitles on my own, you don't need to say it."  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he blabbered. A moment later he opened his mouth: "This is such a cool scene!" He was just about to add something to it when he felt Iwaizumi's firm hand pressed against his mouth.  
In order to do that, Iwaizumi had to wrap his arm around Oikawa's shoulder.  
So they both slowly just relaxed. Iwaizumi let Oikawa lean on his shoulder, still covering his mouth.

Even though the atmosphere was a bit awkward, they chose to ignore it.  
"Mmm," Oikawa made a sound at the end of the episode.  
Iwaizumi didn't let go off his mouth just yet. "Are you going to spoil anything?"  
Oikawa shook his head.  
"Are you going to fanboy?"  
Oikawa shook his head again.  
"Okay." Iwaizumi released him but Oikawa didn't stop leaning on his shoulder. "I'm hungry."  
"Of course you are. You didn't eat your lunch properly," Iwaizumi commented. "Tch."

Oikawa stood up from the bed and stretched. "Don't tch me. Did you like it?"  
Iwaizumi shrugged. "Was okay."  
"Ah, tres bien!" Oikawa spread his arms in the air.  
"What are you doing?"  
Oikawa turned back to Iwaizumi. "How long before dinner?"  
"We just had lunch. I'd say a few hours." Iwaizumi stretched in the bed, too.  
"I'll just text Makki to bring me more milk bread."  
Iwaizumi grimaced again, this time in disbelief. He had both numbers? "Seriously, when did you even exchange that?"  
Oikawa smirked. "Are you sure you don't want my number?" He climbed back on the bed.  
"Yes. Absolutely. We're not friends."  
"But we're getting closer, right?"  
"Never."  
"Iwa-chan," Oikawa sadly sang. "You have offended me."  
"I deeply apologize."  
"Don't say it so lifelessly!"

They spent their entire afternoon watching the series and telling each other to shut up. Makki only dropped by to give them the bread since the class was apparently going to the river but he made sure to mock them as he found them watching the show together _so passionately_.

They fell asleep close to dinner, though. Oikawa fell asleep first, leaning on Iwaizumi's shoulder and the latter didn't know what to do about it.  
But he felt a little tired as well and it didn't take him long to fall asleep either.

The professor entered their room after dinner and bath time to have a talk with them and try to figure out what to do with them.  
The sight he came to was more than a shock to him.  
But all he did was smile to himself, move the computer from their legs and praise himself for the good work.

_"Now they're sleeping together. What a good professor I must be."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean, _I like you_?

"What the fuck."

They woke each other because they were moving and found themselves in a _hugging position_. When they realized this, they both jumped apart, blushing slightly.  
"This never happened."  
"Deal."

Iwaizumi groaned. "My head hurts so much ... I feel ten times worse than yesterday."  
"You know what, actually, me too," Oikawa said, right before he sneezed. "And apparently I'm sweating ... ? My skin hurts. My throat feels swollen on the inside."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Does your stomach hurt, too?"  
"Actually, yeah ... I think I'm gonna ..."  
Oikawa didn't have time to finish. He gagged the very next moment.  
" _Run_!" Iwaizumi pointed to the bathroom.  
" _I can't!_ " Oikawa pointed to his ankle before gagging again. "You have to carry me."  
Iwaizumi felt like hitting himself with a hammer.

"It's too early for this shit," he said as he sat next to Oikawa on the floor.  
" _Merde_ ," Oikawa cursed. "I think you got me sick."  
Iwaizumi laughed shortly. "Sure. My fault. You fell asleep on me."  
After Iwaizumi said that, they both realized what actually happened to them and only let it slide with a slight blush.  
"Feeling better?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Yeah, a little. Everything still hurts. And I'm pretty sure I have vomit all over my retainer."  
"Disgusting. Wash up," Iwaizumi said.

 _"Iwaizumi? Oikawa? Are you here?"_ someone called from outside.  
"Bathroom!" Iwaizumi replied. "Safe to come in."  
"It's not fair how they always call your name first," Oikawa complained.  
"Shut up."  
Only a moment after, the nurse entered and covered her mouth. "Oh my," she said. "Let's get you to your bed."

Apparently Oikawa really did get sick from Iwaizumi, who also felt a little worse than the day before but better than his friend -if you wish- on the other bed. Probably because they spent so much time in front of a screen.  
They didn't pull the beds apart but Oikawa kept to himself anyway.  
Until.

"My favorite troublemakers," the professor greeted them. "I see you're both sick now. I wonder how that happened."  
"Excuse you?" Iwaizumi asked, slightly offended. "We get along just fine."  
"Oh, yes. I believe you. There's a reason you're still here, right?" The professor smiled.  
There was a special spark in the professor's eyes that caused Iwaizumi to realize he had probably come to talk to them the evening before. Iwaizumi only hoped he hadn’t seen the position they woke up in.  
"Now I would politely like to ask you not to cause any more trouble," professor continued. "And stay in your bed. The medicine works quickly so you should be fine by tomorrow or the day after, Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san."

"I doubt I'll be fine by next month," Oikawa mumbled half asleep and deeply hidden inside his blanket. "C'est tres mal, je deteste." His speech was hardly understandable and his voice was sleepy.  
"Very well, then," the professor said. "If you feel well enough, you're welcome to join the program again tomorrow. And I won't be letting your friends visit you today, given your condition."

"But I'm fine, only this ass is sick like shit." Iwaizumi protested, soon enough regretting his extremely rude choice of words. "I apologize."  
The professor smiled, rather unpleasantly. "As far as I know, you have a fever as well and 'that ass' over there needs rest and I doubt that is possible with friends around." His face seemed to darken more and more every second. "Understood?"  
"Yes." Iwaizumi wasn't one to fight professors unless necessary. And in this case, he knew it was only him being childish and a bit stupid (sick).

The professor soon left. Iwaizumi noticed that Oikawa had fallen asleep (while Iwaizumi wasn’t paying attention) in his bed so he got bored. He knew what he was about to do wasn't very smart of him but he still decided to do it.  
He quietly climbed off his bed, took Oikawa's computer and set Stargate on low volume.

He watched for a few hours, making sure he wasn't too loud so Oikawa could sleep normally.  
"Iwa ... Iwa-chan ..." he heard from under Oikawa's pile of blankets.  
"Iwa-chan ... Are you watching Stargate without me?"  
Iwaizumi froze a little before pausing the episode. "I'm sorry I just took your computer but I was really bored-"  
"It's okay," Oikawa replied and Iwaizumi could hear a smile in his voice. "You can take it whenever you want ..." Oikawa slowly sat up.  
"Do you feel any better?" Iwaizumi asked. Oikawa rubbed his eyes, still a bit sleepy. His eyes were a bit foggy and his hair was all messy.  
It was the most adorable thing Iwaizumi had ever seen.

"What?" Oikawa asked as he saw his roommate staring at him with slightly parted lips.  
"Oh, nothing," Iwaizumi quickly looked away. "Are you better?" he asked again.  
"Didn't you hear me? I said I'm a bit better. I don't feel sick anymore, just my skin hurts a little and my throat feels like shit." Oikawa stretched. "Don't watch Stargate without me. You can never watch Stargate without me, not the series." Oikawa was looking directly into Iwaizumi's eyes.  
"But ... How am I supposed to-"  
"There's a movie," Oikawa mumbled. "Watch that. But not the series. I want to watch that with you."  
Iwaizumi groaned. "How am I supposed to finish it if the only time we'll spend together is this camp?"  
Oikawa smiled. Iwaizumi's heart skipped a beat. "Guess we'll spend some more time together after the camp, too," he said.

Oikawa moved closer to Iwaizumi and placed his hand on his forehead.  
"Ouch!" He quickly backed away and took his computer in his hands. "You're burning again. I'm taking this until you feel better," he placed the computer on his nightstand.  
"You're so weird when you worry," Iwaizumi said.  
"I'm not."  
"What am I supposed to do now? I'm bored." Iwaizumi crossed his arms and pouted like a little child.  
"Talk to me."  
"You shouldn't really talk much. You still look so pale," Iwaizumi observed Oikawa's face. The setter was looking at his phone.  
"Yeah ... EEK, why didn't you tell me my hair looks like a nest?!" He hurried brushing his fingers through his hair in order to make it look better.  
"It looks fine to me." Iwaizumi shrugged.  
"That's because _your_ hair always looks like a nest." Oikawa scanned Iwaizumi. "Well, at least you're doing something to your skin, it's pretty flawless."  
Iwaizumi grimaced. "What do you mean, 'doing something to my skin'?"  
Oikawa shrugged. "I don't know what you're doing but it's working."  
"You mean like ... using products and stuff like that?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Aha," Oikawa nodded as he typed on his phone.  
"I don't do that. I don't pay much attention to it, actually." Iwaizumi found the conversation rather weird.

Oikawa looked up from his phone and checked his face out again. "Tch, yeah. Sure. And my teeth are all natural, too. I never wore braces or anything." He looked back down on his screen.  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Fine, don't believe me then."  
Oikawa clucked his tongue as he put his phone down. "You're for real? _How_? Hmpft."  
Iwaizumi squinted his eyes at Oikawa. "Are you ... Offended?"  
Oikawa tilted his head to the side. "No. I'm just jealous. You have such pretty skin," he said, placing his hands on Iwaizumi's cheeks.

Iwaizumi felt his cheeks burn up from the blush that covered his face.  
"This is weird," he said. "You're weird. First you keep saying 'hands off me, creep' and stuff like that but now you're holding my face. Can you not?"  
"But I like you," Oikawa shrugged as he moved away. "You're mean, violent and poor but I want to be your friend." He leaned against his pillow. "By the way, you're burning. Like, for real. Get some rest."

Iwaizumi gulped as he lay down. Oikawa liked him?

He closed his eyes already as he spoke: "I don't necessarily feel like stabbing your throat anymore."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Swallow, swallow!"

When the nurse came to check on them, Iwaizumi was asleep. She brought them lunch as well and told Oikawa about ten times that _resting_ and _taking selfies_ weren't really the same thing.  
She also put medicine for both of them to eat with lunch before leaving.

"Ah, you just missed the pretty nurse," Oikawa said with his mouth full when Iwaizumi woke up.  
"What ..." Iwaizumi rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.  
"Your lunch is on your nightstand. And you need to take this stupid medicine. There's no way I'm eating this ugly pill."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Don't talk with your mouth full," he warned him.  
"Sorry."  
"And this stupid ugly pill will help you get better. I get you, though – I hate taking meds, too." He took his lunch in his lap.  
"Yes, but I already ate one. I have to, for my ankle apparently. Painkillers or something. But this one looks disgusting." Oikawa held a small pill in between his two fingers and judgingly looked at it.  
"If I eat mine, will you eat yours?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Hm ... How about we do it at the same time?" Oikawa suggested.

"Okay. On three. One, two, three."  
None of them moved.

"Cheater!"  
"You didn't do it, either!"  
"You didn't do it first!"  
"That doesn't make any sense!"  
"Je m'en fous."

They stared at each other for some time.  
"Give me your medicine," Iwaizumi spoke after a minute. "Just give it to me."  
Oikawa did as he was told, slightly confused.  
"Open your mouth. Come on, do it. If you bite me I will push you through the window and I'll tell your mom about your tattoo."  
Oikawa seemed more scared of Iwaizumi's second threat so he just nodded before opening his mouth. Iwaizumi put Oikawa's medicine on his spoon, took some food with it and pushed it into Oikawa's mouth.  
"Swallow, swallow!"  
Oikawa almost choked but he managed to swallow the medicine and he panted from the physical pain he was in.

"You idiot!" Oikawa shouted. "My turn! I'll push the spoon so deep you'll vomit for real! You almost killed me here, you know?"  
Iwaizumi shrugged because he knew Oikawa was exaggerating. "Are you going to sue me, too?" he asked.  
Oikawa only shot him a glare. "Open your mouth, go."  
Oikawa didn't even wait for Iwaizumi to fully open his mouth, he just shoved the spoon with medicine inside.  
Iwaizumi lost balance and knocked over his plate, resulting in a minor disaster.

As soon as his medicine was no longer in his mouth, he smacked Oikawa's forehead.  
"Jackass! You _really_ almost choked me here! You're so childish!"

_Khem._

"I'm glad you're finally helping each other," the teacher said.  
Iwaizumi and Oikawa looked at their professor.  
"His timing is like a curse ..." Oikawa whispered under his breath.  
Iwaizumi pulled his hands back in his lap and chose to stay quiet.  
"Perhaps we should put you into different rooms after all?" The teacher suggested, crossing his arms.  
"No!" The boys said at the same time.  
The teacher looked surprised.  
"We really get along," Oikawa nodded. "Right, Iwa-chan?"  
"Don't call me that."  
"I see ... Well, I just came to see how you're doing anyway. If you need anything, please let us know."  
The teacher scanned the duo. "Get that food off your bed, please." Iwaizumi quickly picked up what he could, but his sheets were wet from the liquids.  
"Three years of this ..." The teacher shook his head in despair. "Excuse me." He bowed before he left the room.

Oikawa flopped down onto the mattress. "Thank god he came, you would have killed me if he didn't."  
Iwaizumi glared at him. "You're right about that," he said. "Oh, look, it's raining. I hope there's thunder, too."  
"But why? It's scary and I can't sleep if there's thunder," Oikawa protested.  
"Exactly," Iwaizumi clucked his tongue.  
"Mean!" Oikawa sighed. "Will you hold my hand again if I get scared?"

Iwaizumi grimaced disgustedly. _Yes._ "No," he replied. "What are you, two? I don't even hold my sister's hand."  
"Because she's dead."  
Iwaizumi couldn't believe his ears. "Oikawa, that is the most inappropriate comment you could have made. Do you actually want to be hit?"  
Oikawa started shaking his head before Iwaizumi even finished talking. "No, no, no, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking! I'm so sorry."  
Iwaizumi didn't comment. He just took his phone and swiped a few times before placing it before Oikawa.  
"I also have a little sister, she's four. And she doesn't need anyone to hold her hand when there's a storm."

Oikawa stared at the photo of all three children. "Wow, your sister was really pretty!"  
"Argh, Shittykawa, stop talking about my dead sister!" Iwaizumi growled.  
"Your smile is so beautiful," Oikawa let the words escape his mouth. "Why don't you ever smile here?" Oikawa asked, looking up at the blushing Iwaizumi.  
He didn't answer. Oikawa looked back at the photo.  
"Your little sister really loves you, right?" Oikawa said. "She has such pretty eyes."  
"How is that related?" Iwaizumi groaned when Oikawa returned his phone. "But yeah ... She does. She's really adorable when she's smiling. And she loves hugging me. I think I'm her favorite si-" Iwaizumi smiled to himself. "I'm her only sibling."

Oikawa felt like he's been stabbed directly into his heart. He didn't say anything, he just moved closer to Iwaizumi and slowly wrapped his arms around him.  
"It's okay."

...

 _"What the fuck?!"_ Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa away, madly blushing. "What made you think I needed that?"  
Oikawa's cheeks turned pink as well. "I don't know, you looked like you were about to cry and I thought it would help, I-I I don't know," he kept blabbering.  
"I wasn't going to cry!" Iwaizumi said. "I need to shit." He stood up from the bed, still blushing from the awkward situation.  
"TMI, Iwa!" Oikawa shouted, grossed out as Iwaizumi closed the door to the bathroom.

Oikawa quickly took Iwaizumi's phone to look at the photo one more time.  
Iwaizumi's smile was spread across his face and even his eyes had sparkles in them. He was holding his little sister with one arm and hugging the other one around her shoulder. They all looked so happy.  
Oikawa imprinted the sight in his mind before putting the phone away.  
He was just about to lie down and daydream when his phone told him he got a new message.  
It was one of the classmates, one of the girls, asking how he was. The message seemed rather awkward but Oikawa didn't really care. He wanted to just ignore it but he realized how the girl would feel so he answered that he was feeling a lot better and added many emojis. He got a reply less than a minute later and he knew the girl was literally waiting for him to reply. He received a photo just a few moments later.  
Some girls from the class sent him a group selfie, telling him to come back to lessons already because they missed him.  
Oikawa sighed. "Yay."

"That sounded pretty desperate," Iwaizumi said as he sat on the bed.  
"It was," Oikawa said. "Aren't you going to clean your bed?" Oikawa pointed to remains of Iwaizumi's lunch.  
"I can't, it's soaked in. I'll sleep in your bed tonight and we'll ask the nurse to get someone to change the sheets."  
Oikawa was slightly taken aback by Iwaizumi's request. "Um, hello? No can do, you can sleep on the floor."  
"I normally would," Iwaizumi replied. "But I don't want to stay sick."  
Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Fine." He paused. "We can still ask when they bring us dinner, you know."

"Right ... I forgot about that. Well then, let's do that." He moved to Oikawa's bed. "I'm still staying here for a while."  
Oikawa blinked a few times when their hips accidentally bumped. "Um, okay. Oh my god, thunder." He grabbed Iwaizumi's hand.  
"You're too touchy," Iwaizumi said but he didn't push him away. "Why are you so afraid of thunder anyway?"  
"Because when there’s thunder, there’s lighting. I’m more afraid of that – a strike of lighting sent my grandma to death."  
Iwaizumi sighed and patted Oikawa's shoulder. "There, there."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All mothers love their children.

"How are we going to tell him?" A middle-aged woman asked, holding her husband's hand. She was crying.  
"I don't know. I think it's best if we wait for him to come home." The husband held a little girl in his arms, pressing her to himself.  
"I don't know ... He'll be angry that we didn't tell him earlier. What if we call him in the evening?"  
"Yes. That would be best, they probably have class right now."  
"What are we going to do ..." She cried. Her husband comforted her, hardly keeping from tears himself.  
"I think ... That's the only way for now."

"Did you know? A lightning bolt is about five times hotter than the surface of the sun."  
"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Oikawa said and pressed himself even closer to Iwaizumi.  
Iwaizumi shrugged, but he petted Oikawa's hair. "I think you have a serious problem with this, though," he said.  
"My brother used to scare me all the time when we were little. Once he even locked me in a room and told me scary stories and said that some kind of a monster is going to get me." Oikawa smiled. "Mom got so angry with him. I think that was the only time she actually comforted me and made me feel better."  
Iwaizumi narrowed his eyebrows. "I think your mom loves you anyway," he said.  
Oikawa looked up from where he was leaning against Iwaizumi. "You think?"  
"Mhm," Iwaizumi nodded. "I think all mothers love their children."  
"I'm not so sure," Oikawa mumbled as he leaned back. "But I'm happy you think so."

Iwaizumi didn't feel completely relaxed. After all, his heart was pounding very violently and he was afraid Oikawa would notice. He didn't really know what the feeling was called but he wasn't sure if he liked it.  
"Iwa-chan ..." Oikawa called. "Can I stay like this ... For a little longer? I feel safe."  
Iwaizumi blushed. "If you must." He sighed.  
"What time is it?" Oikawa asked.  
"It's five. You can take a nap."  
Oikawa yawned. "I'd ... rather talk to you ..."  
Iwaizumi covered them both with a blanket as he slid lower as well to lie down. "Or we could both take a nap now and maybe stay up late if we can."  
"Mhm ..." Humming that, Oikawa was almost asleep. But Iwaizumi was no better, either. They were gone just like that.

"Mattsun!" Makki called for his boyfriend. "Come play volleyball with me!"  
Mattsun excused himself from a conversation with his classmates and ran up to Hanamaki.  
"This is our one afternoon off, and we can't spend it with Hajime."  
"I know, right. Sucks. And we can't be outside, either." Mattsun started passing the ball to Makki.  
"Well, luckily, nobody's in the woods today."  
Mattsun snickered. "Nope, the lovebirds are nesting."  
Makki almost missed the toss. "Don't talk like that!" Makki laughed. "You ship them so hard, don't you?"  
"With all my heart." Mattsun hit the ball but Makki wasn't prepared for it at all, so it flew across the gym they were in.  
"That's not fair, you go get it." Makki pouted.  
Mattsun laughed as he called for the ball and somebody passed it to him in the next ten seconds. "I'm sorry, honeyboo."  
"It's okay, pooky bear."  
They started laughing at how pathetic they sounded and only highfived before calling some classmates to join them at volleyball.

Oikawa woke up on top of Iwaizumi, again hugging him, but he didn't even bother to move. His throat seemed a lot better already, and he felt like his fever was almost gone.  
He moved a little from Iwaizumi and gazed at his face. Iwaizumi seemed so happy when he slept.  
"Shit," Oikawa said as he stared at him like that for some time. Then he helplessly lay next to Iwaizumi and stared at the ceiling.

♡ _Mattsun, does Iwa-chan like cuddles?_  
☆ _Not particularly._  
☆ _Wait, why do you wanna know?_  
♡ _No reason._  
☆ _^Bullshit_  
☆ _But I'll let you keep your dirty little secret to yourself, for now. Makki and I will be able to tell with just one look_  
♡ _Don't look at me please_  
☆ _Be scared, be very scared._  
♡ _Mattsun, no_

Oikawa didn't get a reply after that. He was, in fact, a little scared, but he tried not to think about it.  
"Oh man, I could really eat ice cream right now ..." He sighed, looking toward the window. He really wanted to move.  
He sat up, slowly uncovering himself, but making sure he left Iwaizumi covered. He bent to his ankle and slowly touched it. It still hurt a little and the doctor had told him to keep from practice for at least three weeks. But Oikawa wasn't really willing to sit for so long.  
Club activities started in less than a week and he wanted to join. He knew there were going to be tryouts and then dividing in different groups. He wanted to be in group A. He wanted to be the best. Aoba Johsai took volleyball very seriously and so did Oikawa.

"What are you doing ..." Iwaizumi mumbled.  
"Ankle braces exist, right?" Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi.  
"Yeah."  
"Great." He took his phone and started texting someone.  
"What are you going to do?" Iwaizumi asked. "You're not thinking about actually playing next week, right?"  
Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi. "Of course I am. I'll be put in the worst group if I don't."  
Iwaizumi groaned. "You're so immature. I'm sure they will let you play when you can," Iwaizumi said.  
"I'll miss a lot of practice then," Oikawa said. "I can't. Don't worry, I'll be very careful."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "I'm hungry."  
"Me too. Dinner should be soon." Oikawa smiled. He lay back next to Iwaizumi. "It almost stopped raining," he said. "Thank you for comforting me," he said with a bright smile.  
"Yeah, whatever. You should grow up."

Iwaizumi stretched, still lying down.  
"How do you feel?" Oikawa asked.  
"Fine. I'm all good, I'll join the class tomorrow."  
"Huh, how can you be so sure? Can I-" Oikawa reached toward Iwaizumi's forehead but the dark haired boy stopped him by grabbing his wrist.  
"You're not my mom." He pushed his hand away.  
Oikawa sulked away. He crossed his arms on his chest and refused to look at his roommate. Iwaizumi didn't bother.  
He comfortably placed himself, still a bit tired from everything that's happened to him. He closed his eyes but he wasn't sleeping, just resting a little more.

"Sup, we tricked the dinner lady-" Mattsun and Makki barged inside their room. "Why are you in one bed?"  
Oikawa quickly turned away because he didn't want the two friends to look at him.  
"I kinda ruined my sheets with lunch and we were hoping to ask the 'dinner lady' to get someone for this." Iwaizumi sat up, rubbing his eyes.  
"Ayy, too bad," Hanamaki shrugged. "Guess you'll have to sleep together, too."  
"Not like they haven't yet," Matsukawa pointed to the obvious situation. "Oho, Oikawa, where are you going? Come hang out with your friends," Mattsun teasingly called the setter.  
"I need the bathroom," he replied, disappearing as fast as possible.

"Anyway, here's your dinner," Makki and Mattsun put the boxes on the table near the window.  
"Are you allowed to be here?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Nope. But we're staying for a while, okay?"  
Iwaizumi shrugged. "Whatever," he said. "I'm coming back tomorrow."  
"And Oikawa?" Mattsun asked. They both leaned in to see his reaction.  
"I don't know about him," was all Iwaizumi said as he shrugged it off like any other thing.  
"Hm ..."  
"What?"  
"Nothing."  
"Your mom's calling you." Makki pointed to Iwaizumi's phone.  
"Oh ... Can I answer this? It's probably important."  
"Sure."  
"We're not here at all."

While Mattsun and Makki went to bother Oikawa by the bathroom, Iwaizumi picked up the phone.  
"Hello, mom? What's wrong?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were times Hajime found himself thinking: _I'd rather live a different life._ But never did he wish to have a different family. Of course he told his sister he hated her when she teased him or took the innocent teasing a bit too far, but in reality, he never meant those words. It hurt him only thinking about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am i sorry for this? no. but i'm sorry for the quality of it, hopefully you can still enjoy it ^^
> 
> and to all of those commenting and keeping my low spirits up, thank you SO much, you have no idea how much you mean to me. <3

"Why can't I get that candy? It's my birthday." A pair of big brown eyes stared up at his mother who had a hard time holding her tears in.  
"I know, Hajime. I know it's your birthday ... I love you so much," she kneeled down and hugged his tiny body.  
The little boy was confused. He didn't know why his mother was crying all of a sudden. So he started crying as well, not really sure how.  
"Hajime, is something wrong? I know how much you want that candy ..."  
He shook his head wiping his tears away. "You said you love me, and you’re crying. I love you too, mom."

For a moment, the woman looked like she was going to cry a river on spot. But she just smiled, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "No, sweetie, that's not what I meant." She paused. She didn't know how to explain. "Come on, let's go home. Do you want me to carry you?" She offered.  
"No, because your hands hurt yesterday. I don't want them to hurt. I can walk home, I'm big enough now." He held her hand as they started walking.

Hajime was only four and their walk home lasted about thirty minutes. He didn't say a word, not even once. His mom felt like crying as she watched him because she was so proud of him, so sad that she couldn't give him much. She would give him the sun if she could. She would give both of her children the whole universe, if only there was a way.  
But they had to settle with the little they had.

"SURPRISE!" Hajime's dad and his older sister yelled when he returned home with his mom. They had a small pile of cookies on the middle of the table and a present for him.  
His eyes shone like two stars as he ran to hug his sister. "Nee-san, I'm so happy!" he said.  
"Where's my boy?" Hajime's father welcomed him in a tight hug. "Happy birthday, dear."  
Hajime felt extremely happy. The candy was long forgotten.  
"Do you want to open your present?" his mom asked.  
"Yes!"

He took a smaller packet wrapped in old paper and carefully unwrapped it so they could use it again.  
He covered his mouth when he saw a pair of new shoes inside, the ones he had seen in a store once and asked for; but they hadn’t been able to afford them.  
"Wow, I love you!" he exclaimed and hugged his parents.  
"Nee-san also paid for them," his sister proudly stood and Hajime hugged her as well.  
"Try them on," his dad suggested. Hajime immediately took the shoes, putting them on and jumped around the house from happiness.  
"Thank you so much!"

His parents didn't tell him that they had saved their money for almost a whole year so they could buy him a present like this. They didn't tell him how they still had to ask their daughter to borrow some because dad didn't get payment the previous month.  
His mom never mentioned that she knew why Hajime's socks were always so dirty and sometimes wet (Hajime's old shoes were no longer waterproof and they had a hole or two but Hajime refused to tell).

They just let him think it was something he would get no matter what.

Things got a bit better by the time Hajime was seven. His dad got a better job and they could live normally, to some extent. But Hajime didn't care about how much money they had, he didn't care about the fact that he had to share a room with his sister. They loved each other, anyway.

But he heard his mother cry sometimes. Sometimes she left home early in the morning with a smile on her face and a nice dress but returned with a bitter look and a frown.  
She never let out her bad mood on her children. Her family was more of a support than anything else in the world. They kept her up. So Hajime made sure to always hug her and always tell her how much he loved her. It would put a smile on her face.

Hajime and his sister both started working as soon as they were old enough, helping their family get through the month. It was still hard but they kept saying: 'as long as we stay together, it's ok'.

He wasn't raised to live for material. He was always taught that the best things in life come from heart, from being honest and humble. Hajime wouldn't have cared if they lived on a street. Because he knew that as long as he was with his family, things were going to be ok.

There were times Hajime found himself thinking: _I'd rather live a different life._ But never did he wish to have a different family. Of course he told his sister he hated her when she teased him or took the innocent teasing a bit too far, but in reality, he never meant those words. It hurt him only thinking about it.

He picked up volleyball at a very young age, by a coincidence. His friends, Hanamaki and Matsukawa introduced him to the sport and he'd been playing it ever since. He was spotted by a coach only in his second year of junior high. It was at that moment Hajime decided to give his very best, become a professional volleyball player and help his parents fight through every month.  
His vision wasn't becoming the best just so he could lean on the title and enjoy a carefree life. It was always about keeping his family together. They were happy but perhaps they were struggling a little with making it through the end of the month.

But he never expected his dreams to be so brutally destroyed by three words from his mother:  
 _"Hajime, I'm moving."_  
He stared blankly at the space before him. He didn't understand. The one who always told him that as long as they're all together, things are going to be just fine?  
He had a plan. He was going to make it easier for them.

Wasn't it enough that his sister left?


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Iwa-chan ..."  
> "What?"  
> "Um ... Nothing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have a quick question. For some reason I can't reply to my comments from the computer and it just doesn't show the whole comments. Does anyone know why? I can only reply on my phone but as long as I can post new chapters I'm fine lol.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter! ^^

"What's wrong?" Oikawa asked as he finally came from the bathroom and found Hanamaki and Matsukawa sitting next to Hajime, petting his back.  
Hajime was covering his face.  
"He just got a call from his mom," Makki said.  
"Apparently she's leaving them."  
Oikawa blinked twice. "Iwa-chan? Are you okay?"  
" _No_ ," he shouted. "I'm _not_. My family's falling apart."

Mattsun looked at Oikawa and gestured him to come closer.  
"My dad lost his job," Iwaizumi started talking. "And the only job my mom actually got is in Hiroshima. She would turn it down if my dad still had the job but things went ... Contrary to their plans." Iwaizumi wasn't crying. But he wasn't that far from it either.  
Oikawa sat on the bed. "Why does that hurt you?" he asked.  
Mattsun and Makki shot him a quick glare but Oikawa didn't mind.  
"Because she always said that we need to stick together. And when my sister died ... I really thought we would never part again, you know."  
Oikawa thought for a moment. "But eventually you would, you know?"  
"Oikawa, you ..." Mattsun started.  
"Isn't it true? You won't go to university from home, right? And once you get married, do you plan on living with your parents then, too?"

Oikawa took Iwaizumi's hand in his. "I think that what she meant was ... You needed to stay together in here," he put Iwaizumi's hand where his heart was. "That way you really can stay together forever."  
Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged looks but they didn't do anything.  
Iwaizumi gulped. Then he nodded. "You're ... probably right," he said. "But it still hurts." He looked up.  
"I know," Oikawa nodded, not letting go off his hand yet. "But you have us, right?" He looked at Mattsun and Makki.  
"Right," they answered.  
"We have a private jet," Oikawa shrugged. "We can go visit your mom whenever you want."  
Iwaizumi shook his head. "I could never accept that ..."  
"Why not? I went there once just because I wanted to go shopping."  
"That's sick," Makki said.  
"You're spoiled," Mattsun added.  
Iwaizumi smiled when Oikawa started to sulk.

"Thank you," he said. "All of you." He sighed.  
"I'm sure things will go fine," Hanamaki said. "I can't really offer you a plane but you know, I have a phone. You can call me."  
"I have a _computer_ ," Matsukawa said. "You can _Skype_ me."  
"I have all that and also-" Oikawa started talking before Mattsun pressed his hand against his mouth.  
"This was never a fair competition to begin with," he said.  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Or, you know, I can just talk to you at school and at practice. I'll be fine, really."  
"Yeah, sure ... Why not," the boys mumbled.

"Ah, there you are! Matsukawa-san, Hanamaki-san, don't disappear like that! Go to dinner, it's getting cold already." Their professor appeared. "And I thought I told you not to come in here today?"  
"We were asked to bring them dinner," they lied as they walked toward the door.  
"How about I ask you to write an essay due tomorrow?"  
"No need."  
"We'll be good."

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were left alone. Oikawa quickly pulled his hand away.  
"Well, our dinner's probably getting cold as well," he commented.  
"Yeah, right."  
They didn't mention Iwaizumi's struggle or how Oikawa had just mentioned his wealth for the first time without bragging about it.  
"Oikawa ..." Iwaizumi called. He felt his heart pound again as the setter looked at him.  
"Yes?"  
"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"  
Oikawa slightly blushed at the unexpected answer before he slowly nodded. "Yes, of course."  
He bit his lip. "Iwa-chan ..."  
"What?"  
"Um ... Nothing. Let's watch Stargate for a bit, okay?"  
"Sure."

They placed in Oikawa's bed, slightly uncomfortably at first but they just gave in in a few minutes and adjusted their positions. Their legs crossed and this time Iwaizumi leaned on Oikawa's shoulder. Their hands rested on top of each other, but none of them seemed to even notice because they were paying more attention to the screen.

They really did sleep in the same bed, once again waking up in an awkward hug. The nurse told them they were good to go but also advised them to dress properly. They left for class together, meeting Mattsun and Makki on the hall. They were going outside for their lesson.

"Good morning, students, welcome to the fifth day of our camp. As I see, everyone is present today."  
Some of the girls squealed when Oikawa waved at them. They quickly gathered around him, bumping the other three away.  
"You'll be working in pairs again today," the teacher said, thinking just how unfortunate Iwaizumi and Oikawa must have been. "And you'll go treasure hunting. You'll be given a map and the first clue. Now, due to recent events," his glance slid toward Iwaizumi and Oikawa. "You are all allowed to have a phone with you, only for emergencies. We have also set some guards so you don't get off trail. The hunt is bounded in the near area so you shouldn't have too much problems. You have time until lunch. Pick your partner and meet me at the starting line in ten minutes."

Just as Iwaizumi started looking who still needed a partner, he felt a tug on his sleeve around his wrist. He looked up only to see Oikawa holding him as if asking him to be his partner.  
"Aren't you going with one of the girls? Look at how badly they want you."  
Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi. "They're all good and pretty but I ... I don't trust them. I trust you, Iwa-chan. Do you want to work with me?"  
Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa away. "Not like we got lost once already," he said. "I want to meet other people, too," he added. "But I'll work with you so you won't try anything funny with that ankle."

In the near distance, Hanamaki and Matsukawa highfived and fanboyed over their rapidly evolving OTP.

"Ah, Oikawa-san," the teacher approached them. "Will you be able to do this? You don't need to participate if you can't."  
Oikawa shook his head. "It was just a light sprain," he flashed a smile. "I'll be fine. Besides, I have Iwa-chan."  
"Don't call me that."  
The professor nodded. "Okay. If it starts to hurt, you have to drop out immediately, though."  
"I'll take care of that," Iwaizumi said.  
"Alright, thank you very much. Good luck!"  
"Thank you!"

Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa. "You better not get hurt. I'm not going to carry you again."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi didn't think; he just acted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS!! Half of the fic is officially _posted_!!  
>  I'm excited but also sad because now I only have half of it left ... So I'll just use this moment to tell you two things.  
>  _THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!!_ I'm so glad you decided to read and then keep reading this, even though i hurt Iwa and Oiks so much. I promise you that I will continue to do so in the next chapters ~~I'm horrible I know~~ but I'm honestly so happy that you actually read it. Thank you  <3
> 
> Now ... I'm kinda skeptical whether I should say this now or wait a bit ... but I guess I should go by my impulse. I won't be posting anymore after this fic. I ... kinda lost ... it? I'll just be honest. I put some effort in this fic. I'm not saying I put in all I've got but I did spend quite some time on it while I didn't really have to and seeing such wonderful comments is really making me happy but when I see the numbers -and you know which numbers I'm talking about- I feel like 'why should I even bother to continue doing this? I'm obviously not pleasing that many people and my writing is probably really shitty.' So ... Call it whatever you want, depression, attention seeking, perhaps ambition?, but it's really holding me back and making me sad. So unless something changes my mind, this is probably the last fic I will post. But I really am _so_ happy that you like what I'm doing. But I guess _I_ should have liked it first.

"Look at them! They're my OTP," Mattsun pointed to Oikawa and Iwaizumi who were, surprise, surprise, arguing.  
"What? I thought _we_ were your OTP," Makki dramatically crossed his arms and turned away.  
Mattsun pulled him by his waist, in a hug and wrapped himself around him. "You're still my one and only honeyboo," he whispered passionately.  
It was so stupid that Makki couldn't help himself but snort at his boyfriend and smack his forehead. "Idiot. We better go interrupt them or they'll end up out of the program again," he pointed to Oikawa and Iwaizumi who were already shooting each other with their looks.

"But it says here that you must go _this way_ , are you blind?!"  
"No, I _told you_ that you had your map upside down! Do you wanna get lost again?"  
"Hey-"  
"Do _you_ wanna get lost again?"  
"You lost us once already."  
"Iwa-chan, c’est malpoli!”  
"You guys know that the hunt hasn't even begun, right?"

Oikawa and Iwaizumi turned to Mattsun and Makki in unison.  
"Tell him he's wrong," they both said at the same time and shoved the map into their hands.  
"Well, since you're our competition in this hunt, we shall not tell you the right answer." Makki politely pushed the map back toward them. "But I can tell you that _neither_ of you was correct."  
"Besides, aren't you two the last to go? Just follow everyone else." Mattsun shrugged.  
Oikawa seemed frustrated. "You do realize that we're in here right now so we can't see where the others have gone?"  
Mattsun and Makki exchanged surprised looks. "Holy shit, we're up next, we better get a map."  
With that, they were gone.  
Oikawa sat on a chair and banged his head against the table. "I'm miserable," he said.  
Iwaizumi stared at the map. "Give me the clue," he said. "Oikawa, wake up." He poked Oikawa's upper arm. The setter only gave him the paper, without moving any other part of his body.  
"Hm ... Mhm ... Alright, I got it," he said. "Are you listening?" He hit his head with a map so Oikawa finally looked up.  
"My leg hurts."  
"Do you want to go back inside? You don't have to do this and I can still join another group." Iwaizumi _was_ worried about his classmate but he didn't want it to be obvious, so he added: "Because I really won't carry you, I'll just leave you."

Oikawa smiled. "No, I'll be fine. We just won't be as fast. We'll probably come in last, anyway." He shrugged.  
Iwaizumi sighed. He was visibly tired and also worried because of the situation at home. But he didn't want to bother Oikawa or anyone. "I can't believe I'm saying this but; we'll just have to work as a team."  
"Ohoho?" Oikawa smirked. "Finally, do you want my number now?"  
"Don't ask that out of nowhere," Iwaizumi said, seriously taken aback. "I don't need it, thank you."  
Oikawa huffed. "Tch."

It wasn't long before it was their turn to go on the hunt. They were last on the list because of Oikawa's ankle, so they wouldn't butt in with others.  
"Ready? Start," the professor pressed the button and the boys started walking in different directions.  
"You go ahead and get lost."  
"You'll get lost first."  
"That way, guys ... That way," the professor pointed, miserable because he had them as his students.  
They really were both going the wrong way.

"Ah, there, I see the second clue!" Oikawa exclaimed.  
"I can see just fine, thank you," Iwaizumi groaned. He reached for the paper and read the instructions.  
"Which way is East?" he asked.  
"Um ... Let's ask the gps," Oikawa shrugged. He needed a few moments to figure it out then pointed the right way. "There. Let's go."  
"If we get lost ..."  
"We won't get lost. Come on."

Whether it was instinctively or not, Oikawa couldn't undo what he had done right after he said that. He grabbed Iwaizumi's hand, matching his pace and locked their fingers.  
Iwaizumi and Oikawa blushed madly at the situation, quickly letting go. They widened the gap between each other a little, too.  
After a few silent minutes of walking they reached the river where another clue waited for them.  
It turned out this time it was a task.

_Share your favorite moment with the person you're paired with and write it on this piece of paper. Then continue in the same direction._

They stared at the paper.  
"It hasn't been exactly ... Delightful," Iwaizumi said.  
"I enjoyed watching Stargate with you." Oikawa seemed like he had something more to tell. "And when you held my hand during the storm or when you told me about your sister."  
"I ..." Iwaizumi suddenly found himself lacking words.  
"And I really like it when you smile." Oikawa wasn't able to look at Iwaizumi.  
"I ..."  
"Speak up!" Oikawa snapped. "Do you like spending time with me? Or not? Is that why you don't want my number? Because you don't get it, do you, _I_ want _your_ number, I don't care what you want!" His eyes became a bit watery as he yelled and Iwaizumi was slightly surprised at the situation. "Because I like you. _A lot_. You're the first person to be so good with me even though you don't want to show it. I like every moment I spend with you, even when you call me nicknames or say that I'm a spoiled brat, which, you made me realize, I _am_."  
He stared at Iwaizumi. He was blushing but he was too shocked to say anything at all.  
"Well? Aren't you even gonna say a word? A 'fuck you' would be better than this." He turned around, wiping his tears from his eyes.  
"Oikawa ..."  
"Don't. Forget I said anything. Let's just finish this stupid hunt."

Oikawa started walking and Iwaizumi quietly followed him. Was it meant romantically? Or did Oikawa just like him as a really good friend?  
Because Iwaizumi liked Oikawa just a bit more than that.  
"Watch out!" Even this time, Iwaizumi was too late. Oikawa fell over a rock and landed on his hands.  
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, holding his right wrist still.  
"Did you get hurt?" Iwaizumi kneeled to him, taking a closer look at his hand.  
"Why would you care about that?" Oikawa spoke, obviously offended. "You didn't even reject my confession, you just didn't say anything at all which is even _worse_ -"  
"Shut up."  
"And now you're pretending to care so it wouldn't look like we got into another fight well let me tell you just what-" _Shut up, Oikawa._  
Iwaizumi didn't think; he just acted.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god I got wonderful comments and I honestly didn't expect any of that. Thank you so much, really, it means a lot. <3

A moment Iwaizumi will probably regret for the rest of his life; kissing Oikawa in order to make him shut his blabbering mouth.  
"Your wrist is swollen."  
Oikawa's system wasn't really functioning. He could only blink at his classmate, completely still and shocked from what just happened.  
"I'll call for help. We're done with this hunt."

Oikawa didn't reply. He probably didn't even hear him. He just felt this ... rapidly growing heat inside his chest - but it was a good kind of heat, the one that sent butterflies down his stomach and made his brain all fuzzy. He felt his heart banging against his chest as if trying to break through, to Iwaizumi.

What just happened?

_Why does my wrist hurt?_

"There he is," Iwaizumi pointed to Oikawa, still seated on the floor. "It looks pretty bad. You might want to take him for a few scans."  
"Thank you, Iwaizumi-san. You can return to your class now, we'll take care of him."  
Without another word, Iwaizumi left Oikawa to the team and returned to his class in a matter of minutes.  
Some of them were still hunting but Mattsun and Makki were already done, pretty exhausted since they sprinted the whole thing, aiming for the first place.

"How is it always you two?" Makki asked, laughing at his best friend.  
"Did you help him get hurt?" Mattsun grinned.  
Iwaizumi didn't seem to enjoy the conversation as he usually would.  
"Are you two happy?" he asked.  
Mattsun and Makki looked at each other. "Well, yeah," they replied.  
"Do you ever fight?"  
"Uh ... Not that I'd know about it."  
"Our fights are always over the last slice of pizza."  
Iwaizumi thought to himself.  
"Is he okay?"  
"Do you think he's still sick?"  
The two friends observed their classmate with worry.  
"Hajime, dear-"  
"I'm pretty screwed, then," Iwaizumi finally confessed.  
"He's speaking codes, run for your life."

Iwaizumi helplessly leaned on Makki. "Who are we waiting for?" he asked.  
"Two more, I think?" Mattsun replied. "Then we can all go to lunch. I'm starving, I hope they come back soon."  
"Yeah, me too."  
"Yeah, I hope they come quickly," Iwaizumi agreed but he wasn't so sure if he actually replied to Mattsun's words or expressed his own wish about a different group of people.

Iwaizumi could finally meet his other classmates as well in the afternoon. But the more he talked to them and got to know them, the more he just wanted to listen to that silly voice and watch that pretty face.

"Ah, Iwa-chan," Mattsun walked up to him, with Makki just a few steps behind.  
"Iwa, Iwa ..."  
Iwaizumi grumped at them, shooting them a rather unpleasant glare. "What do you want?"  
"You seem rather restless," Makki sat next to him, petting his hair.  
"Can we help you, dearie?" Mattsun sat by his other side, leaning on the table.  
"What? No, I don't want your 'help'." Iwaizumi knowingly looked at them before pushing Makki's hand away. He knew them well enough to know that they were up to something.  
"Being lovestruck sure is a hard burden to carry," Makki continued. "If you want, we can help you release your tension."  
"We can make your dreams come true."

Iwaizumi grimaced, obviously disgusted by their proposals. "Ew, no, I don't know what kind of perverted sick thing you have in mind but I'm not interested."  
Makki clucked his tongue. "Did you notice that, Mattsun?"  
"I sure did, Makki."  
"He didn't deny it."  
"He didn't even flinch."  
Iwaizumi was confused. He was very confused and he didn't know what he did or didn't do this time.

The duo leaned in even closer.  
"Is it Oikawa?"  
" _Of course_ it's Oikawa. The question is _how long_ has this been going on."  
Iwaizumi would, if he could, choke on air. He immediately started shaking his head, even blushing a little, rushing his words: "What? You guys are stupid, I hate that stupid brat. I _don't_ have anyone I like, okay. Where did you get the idea?"  
Mattsun and Makki high-fived, grinning. "Yep, we caught you red-handed. Or should I say red-faced. Even if you were a good actor - which you are not - that blush of yours would have let anyone know you're lying."  
Mattsun grinned at his boyfriend's words. "I guess you're still at the stage of denial?" He faked a worried expression. "It's taking you quite long, don't you think?"

Iwaizumi stood up, raging inside his chest.  
" _Shut up_! I hate myself for it, I don't need your crap."  
"Ah, there it is, anger." Makki clapped.  
"Leave me alone." Iwaizumi started walking away. He didn't feel like dealing with their shit at all. He just wanted to force himself into not liking Oikawa romantically as he was perfectly fine without him in his life anyway.  
"No, we really wanna help." Mattsun caught up.  
"We hate to see you struggle."  
Iwaizumi stopped walking away but he crossed his arms. "I'm still getting over my sister. I can't just have that in my life now. Besides, where did you get the idea that I li-"  
"It's basically written on your face," Makki shrugged.  
"And we know you really well." Mattsun added.

"Look, I know what you mean by that but it's -excuse the expression- bullshit. You're just scared that one of you is going to hurt the other one, right?" Makki looked at Iwaizumi. "You're afraid to love because you don't wanna lose again. Am I right?"  
Iwaizumi stood still for a moment, unable to move.  
Yes. Hanamaki was right. Iwaizumi did not want to lose more people he cared about.  
He gulped. "Thank you but I ... I can take care of this on my own." Without saying anything else, he turned around and walked away.

Mattsun smiled at Makki. "Nice one," he said.  
"I know, right? Thanks. He should be fine now." Makki held Mattsun's hand.  
"You should totally become a therapist."  
"I'd be a pretty good one, right?"  
"The very best."  
"Like no one ever was."

Iwaizumi didn't really know how he felt. He wasn't angry, of course, if his friends only wanted to help him. But he felt like it really wasn't their business.  
He was so happy that their afternoon lessons had ended, because that meant he could do whatever he wanted, even close himself inside his room and avoid human contact; which was exactly what he was going to do.

He greeted the nurse on his way to the room, thinking about his sheets. He hoped that they were changed already, but at the same time he also hoped that the staff forgot about it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, his bed was as good new and he miserably sat on it. He thought he was alone but the next thing he knew the bathroom door opened and Oikawa entered the room. With a cast on his right arm.  
"Hi."  
"Hi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oya oya?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> {Oh my god in French}

Oikawa awkwardly stood before the bathroom door for a moment. Then he sat on his bed, where he had a book, marked somewhere around the middle.  
"How's your wrist?"  
"Broken."  
"Ah."

Iwaizumi picked up his phone to call his parents and maybe talk to his sister a little. He didn't pay any attention to Oikawa and the setter found that extremely annoying, but he just put his glasses on and read the book as if Iwaizumi wasn't even in the room.  
"Hey," Iwaizumi suddenly greeted with a huge smile on his lips. Oikawa curiously raised his gaze and tried to make it as sneaky as possible when he was eavesdropping.  
"How are you? No, I'm not busy, I have time. I miss you," Iwaizumi said, love filling his voice. "Ehh, Mattsun and Makki are outside but I'll tell them," he said still smiling. His expression didn't change even when his little sister asked for 'that adorable classmate from last time'.  
"Um, he's not here right now, either," Iwaizumi lied. "Of course I'll tell him. I love you, bye-bye," he said, making a smooch sound into the phone. It always made his sister giggle.  
He was smiling when he hung up.

He stood up without even glancing at Oikawa and headed toward the bathroom.  
The setter really tried to focus on his book but he somehow just couldn't. Iwaizumi was making him angry. So he closed the book and crossed his arms on his chest.  
He was all injured because of him.  
Well, not because of him, but still. He couldn't play. And he couldn't even read without Iwaizumi running all over his mind.

When the dark-haired boy returned from the bathroom and silently sat on the bed, Oikawa had had enough.  
"Are we not talking?" he asked.  
"Why wouldn't we be?"  
Oikawa pouted more. "If you feel awkward about what happened, don't." He scanned Iwaizumi to get a reaction out of him but the boy didn't seem to react at all.  
"What are we talking about?" he asked, pretending to not be interested.  
Oikawa gasped. "Are you serious? Are you just going to pretend that nothing happened?" Now the setter was really angry.  
"I'm pretty sure nothing big happened today? Unless you mean your wrist, then I'm sorry about that but it's not my fault." Iwaizumi refused to look at Oikawa. He kept looking away, fiddling with his sleeves.  
"What- are you ... Are you for real right now?! Do you even _know_ what you did?" Oikawa glared at his roommate.  
Iwaizumi finally looked at Oikawa, shooting him with his eyes. "Why is this such a big deal to you? What, do you want me to do it again? Because other way you better-"  
"Well, _yes_!" Oikawa flailed his arms around. "Of course I want that. Don't you remember what I told you?"  
Iwaizumi was kind of speechless for a moment or two. He hadn’t really expected an affirmative answer to that question. He was kind of fucked now that he had Oikawa's confirmation. "You meant that? One hundred percent sure?"  
"Mon dieu what do you think, huh?" He shook his head. "It's pointless, though."  
"No, it's not ..." Iwaizumi shook his head. "In that case ... If you really meant it ... Give me some time." He moved closer to Oikawa and held his healthy hand. "Okay? I just lost someone very precious to me and I need some time."  
Oikawa sighed. "Can I at least spend that time by your side?"  
It took Iwaizumi a moment to smile. He nodded. "Sure." He quickly returned to his usual self. "Ha, now you literally can’t play volleyball for at least a few weeks."

"Iwa-chan, there was no need to say that!" Oikawa tried hitting him with a cast but Iwaizumi skillfully caught his arm and pulled it around his own body into a hug.  
"I hate you."  
Oikawa wasn't completely sure how to react. "Uhh ... I have a question, though. Do you think it's okay for someone as rich as me and someone as poor as you to go out?"  
Iwaizumi smacked the back of Oikawa's head before breaking the hug. "You're asking that _now_ , after we literally slept together?! And I swear, if you call me poor _one more time_ , I'm going to shove that private jet of yours straight up your ass."  
Oikawa gagged. "Ew, Iwa-chan. I just worry that my mom won't like you."  
"Who cares about that. And we're not going out, Shittykawa."  
"That was uncalled for!"  
"Your face is uncalled for."  
"Did you just meme me?"  
"You can blame my dearest friends, Hanamaki and Matsukawa," Iwaizumi replied, winking.  
"Oh god. Iwa-chan, what are you doing? You're ruining my perfect hair, stop!" Oikawa tried pushing him away but Iwaizumi was obviously too strong.  
"I like it if it's messy."  
"I don't. Geh, you're way too close."  
"I can't kiss you from across the room, idiot."

Oikawa blushed. "Oh ..."  
He dug his fingers into Iwaizumi's hair as their lips joined and he wrapped his legs around his hips. They were still sitting on their giant bed.

Iwaizumi broke the kiss, blushing madly. "If you tell only one person about this, I am going to tell your grandparents about your tattoo."  
Oikawa laughed at how adorable Iwaizumi was and how frustrated he looked. "I won't. We have to act natural, though. It means we need to fight a lot in front of our classmates."  
Iwaizumi nodded. "I'll punch you."  
"Geh, why?! That's not in the script!"  
"Neither was this but here we are," Iwaizumi shrugged, as in 'get over it' before he leaned his head on Oikawa's shoulder.

The setter chuckled. "That was really adorable." He petted Iwaizumi's hair.  
"Shut up," Iwaizumi mumbled. He suddenly raised himself to look at Oikawa. "I'm not in love with you. I just like you. And I need to figure out whether I want this to go further or not, so ... Really, give me some time."  
Oikawa nodded. "I understand. I'll give you until Friday."  
Iwaizumi almost punched Oikawa but he fortunately noticed his dorky expression right before that so he just pushed him and he fell.  
"How did you know I like to bottom?" Oikawa winked but stopped when he received one of Iwaizumi's glares, probably invented especially for Oikawa.  
"I take what I said back, I don't like you one bit. You're disgusting and I don't want anything with you."  
Oikawa pouted. "Don't be a tsuntsun now, Iwa-chan." He pouted his lips as if asking for a kiss. Iwaizumi pinched them with his fingers and turned a little to the right while Oikawa cried and waved his arms, asking him to let go.

"Ouch, Iwa, that hurt!" he complained, covering his lips with his hand.  
"You deserved it." Iwaizumi leaned in and moved his hand, though, and pecked a quick kiss to prevent any dramatic outbursts from his roommate.  
"Aaaaaawwww! We can't even tell Mattsun and Makki?"  
" _Especially_ not them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oya oya oya _finally_ , right?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Iwa-chan, that actually hurts me a little. Aren't I always polite?"

"Hayo, we came to see how our favorite pansexual is doing," Mattsun and Makki barged in their room with milk bread and pocky.  
Oikawa raised his eyes from the book he was reading. "Huh? Oh, hey," he smiled.  
"Where's Iwa-chan?" Makki asked.  
"You don't get to call me that." Iwaizumi came from the bathroom, glaring at one of his best friends. "Is there a class meeting or what?"  
"Ah, yes, actually. We also came to tell you that," Mattsun explained, while dealing with Oikawa, who already claimed all of the milk bread and cheerfully stuffed it inside his mouth. "Don't do that! You'll throw up, Oikawa, slow down!"  
"I'm hungry!"  
"Don't talk with your mouth full!"  
"Sorry."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the sight and paid attention to Makki instead, choosing to ignore the chaos behind him.  
"Is it optional?"  
"Ye, but it's supposedly going to be fun. Swimsuit required and stuff. We're meeting in twenty minutes because the girls need to 'get ready' or something." Makki shrugged.

"What do you mean _girls_ need to get ready? _I_ need to get ready! Excuse me!" Oikawa pushed Mattsun off the bed as he rushed to the bathroom.  
"You like _this_?" Mattsun stood up.  
"Eh, I don't! Where do you get these ideas?" Iwaizumi defended himself.  
"You _told_ us, you idiot," Makki laughed at him.

"Iwa-chan, did you take my hair brush?" Oikawa came from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.  
"No, why would I? As far as I know, you can't get that cast wet anyway. What are you so excited about?"  
Oikawa's face seemed to lose that special spark. "Did you have to say that out loud?! I already knew, Iwa-chan, you're such a party poop!"  
Mattsun and Makki tried their best to hold back their laughter while Iwaizumi's face turned into a mixture of grief, horror, and question 'why me'.  
"I'm a what ..."  
"Anyway, I was just going to hang out with my classmates," Oikawa said, returning to the bathroom. "I'm sure the girls will be happy to see me."  
"You're way too cocky!"  
"But it's true," Iwaizumi shrugged. Mattsun and Makki looked at him rather confused. "Ah, I mean ... They love him, right? So he's not exactly ... cocky if he says that ... right? Isn't this how it works?"

Mattsun and Makki looked at each other. They grinned and looked back at Iwaizumi before using their cute girly voices.  
"Aaahh, kawaii!"  
"Iwa-chan is so cute! So cute!"  
"Lovestruck and adorable, wiwiwi!"  
"What's adorable?" Oikawa came out of the bathroom; he looked like an idol again.  
"Hajime's-"  
Iwaizumi shut each of his hands against the mouth of one of his friends. "Thank you for calling us, we're looking forward to join the class! See you later," he escorted them out with a way too pleasant smile and shut the door behind them.

Oikawa searched for his swimming trunk.  
"Aren't you embarrassed of your scar?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Well ..." Oikawa sighed. "I've never really shown it to anyone else, you're right."  
"How about in summer? At the beach or something?"  
Oikawa shrugged. "I never went because I didn't have any friends. And after I got the scar, I didn't really take my shirt off." Oikawa found his swimming trunks but he put them back with a sigh. "Guess you're right. I forgot about that for a moment."  
Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa rather disappointed.

"Can I see it?"  
"Eh, what?"  
"The scar, can I see it?"

Oikawa frowned. "Okay ..." He took off his shirt but he looked away when he saw Iwaizumi staring at him.  
"It ... actually makes you look really badass," Iwaizumi commented, pressing his hands against Oikawa's skin. "And it makes you a fighter. Right?" He looked up at him. "I like it."  
Oikawa smiled. "Really?"  
"Mhm," Iwaizumi nodded. He hugged Oikawa’s body and leaned his face against it.  
"Oh," Oikawa said, surprised, but he smiled a second later and petted Iwaizumi's hair. "Your sudden cute behavior will be the end of me," he chuckled, blushing.  
"Huh? What do you mean?" Iwaizumi looked up, adorably pouting at him. Oikawa covered his face with his hands.  
"Where did you learn that?!"  
"I had two sisters." Iwaizumi grinned as he raised himself up to level their faces. "I can be cute sometimes." He turned his soft look into a glare instantly. "If you tell _anyone_ -"  
"Yes, yes, I know." Oikawa kissed Iwaizumi's cheek. "Adorable."  
"Oi, don't walk off like that!" Iwaizumi angrily spoke as Oikawa turned away to get the swimming trunks.  
He chuckled. "We're going to be late, Iwa-chan," he said. "You might wanna change."

"Oh, the teacher isn't here?" Iwaizumi asked when they arrived at the location.  
"Nope, it's an activity that some of our classmates set up." Mattsun took off his shirt right away while the other three kept them on for a bit longer.  
"Honestly, I wish it were us," Makki said, stretching his neck.  
"What's going on anyway?" Oikawa finally spoke as well, sitting down.

"It's a waterballoon fight!" One of their female classmates jumped in front of them, smiling, hugely, in her swimsuit. "Oikawa-san, will you be okay with a cast?" she asked, leaning a bit down to him. All four boys tried not to look at her exposed cleavage.  
"Yes, I'll only be watching, thank you for your concern," he smiled at her. She nodded, smiling at the group before leaving to inform her friends that their prince charming wasn't going to participate.  
"Fake," Iwaizumi said.  
"So fake." Mattsun agreed.  
"Can you teach me?" Makki asked.

"What?" Oikawa asked confused.  
"How are you so polite to other people?! Did you go to acting school or something?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Iwa-chan, that actually hurts me a little. Aren't I always polite?" Oikawa looked up at the trio.  
They bursted into laughter because Oikawa's statement made no sense.  
"Guys, you're being mean! Stop laughing!"

"Alright, everyone, gather up!" the same girl called. Iwaizumi casually flipped his shirt into Oikawa's lap, making him pout, but the setter quickly shut his mouth when he saw that built body walk away to the group.  
He gulped.  
He really did not want to give Iwaizumi his time. He wanted him to give in already.  
"Iwa-chan, you fucking tsundere," he said to himself under his breath.  
He had a plan.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Oikawa becomes a cheerleader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I can't believe I'm posting chapter _20_ already! Thank you for staying with me, I love you so much.  <3  
> Can you find a Cheer Danshi reference?

"Makki, you traitorous ass, I'm going to end you!"  
"Try it!"  
"Watch out!"  
"Hanamaki-san, I'm sorry I hit your head!"  
"Don't worry, girl, I'll return the favor."

Everything seemed pretty normal and the way it should be.  
Except it was not.

"Go, go, let's go, Iwa-chan!"  
Oikawa had somehow managed to stand and cheer for his lovely wannabe boyfriend. He extended each vowel and used hands to be louder.  
"Kill, kill, Iwa-chan!"  
He even had a smaller dance prepared.

" _Shut up_!" Iwaizumi shouted, because he wasn't really able to focus like that.  
One of the girls just stood paralyzed in front of Oikawa, staring at him until a balloon hit her and she almost fell.  
"Jackass!" she yelled, running after the one that hit her, which would be Hanamaki.

*"I thought Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san didn't get along."  
"Me too."  
*"Is he trying to pick a fight with him?"  
"Looks like it."  
*"Oikawa-kun and Iwaizumi-san really became friends, right."  
"Iwaizumi looks like he's going to kill everyone."  
"Geh, creepy!"

Oikawa didn't really care what his classmates were saying. He probably didn't really hear them. But he continued cheering for Iwa-chan passionately, creating different chants and even using those of Aoba Johsai's volleyball team.

"Go, Iwa-chan," Makki sang as he ran by and successfully splashed a balloon on Iwaizumi's back.  
"Iwa-chan my hero!" Mattsun attacked from the front and high-fived his boyfriend as they ran off together.  
"ARGH, _stop_!" Iwaizumi raged, gathering a few balloons as he ran after his friends.  
They knew they couldn't escape him.  
He might have been smaller than them but he was an absolute monster. An A+ athlete. Hanamaki and Matsukawa were doomed. They knew it. So they decided to sink together, hand in hand.

They made it pretty dramatic when Iwaizumi attacked them, falling slowly to their knees and crying out:  
"Why, Hajime, why? I thought we were friends!"  
"How could you betray us like that? Whatever did we do to deserve such treatment, why, oh why?"  
"Mattsun, I am dying. I love you."  
"Noooooooooo! What did you dooooo?"  
Mattsun and Makki acted out a dying scene in slow motion, making Iwaizumi only laugh at them before throwing those last few balloons at them and escaping.

"Yay, Iwa-chan! Go, fight, win!"  
Oikawa was now the official leader of the Iwaizumi Hajime fanclub. Some of the classmates that were tired or cold joined him and let him teach them the routine and the chants.  
Soon, Iwaizumi had a whole squad of people cheering for him. He found it extremely embarrassing and he was blushing. Pretty badly.

"Are you at the stage of acceptance now?" Makki asked as he ran by, avoiding a splash by just a little. "Or one stage before that?"  
Iwaizumi glared at him, breaking a balloon right on top of Makki's head.  
"Ah, not even there yet, I see. Still angry. I know a great way to deal-"  
"Get _lost_!" Iwaizumi growled, making Hanamaki laugh and run off in search of Mattsun.

"Go, go, Iwa-chan! Push, push, Iwa-chan, one more!"

Iwaizumi felt like he was being bullied. He stopped in front of Oikawa.  
"If you don't stop, I'll _drown_ your cast, break your other wrist, step on your ankle and stuff you inside that trash can," he pointed to a trash can near them.  
While the other classmates were a bit scared of him, Oikawa only smiled and shook it off. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."  
"What? You dumbass, you-"  
Iwaizumi froze as a bucket of cold water was splashed all over him. Oikawa quickly jumped away on one leg, shielding his cast from the water. Hanamaki and Matsukawa laughed. Everyone else waited breathless.  
Iwaizumi needed a moment or two to recover. Then he laughed as well, acknowledging Makki and Mattsun’s victory.

"Guys, guys, well done," he said. "Let me give you a hug."  
"No need!"  
"We're already wet enough!"  
They laughed at each other.  
The fight ended soon, since most of the students were getting cold and had wrapped themselves in towels.  
Oikawa was the only one still showing off his hot body. He immediately managed to gather a bunch of classmates around, asking about his scar.

"I really hate his guts," Iwaizumi said as he dried his hair with his towel.  
"But you two seem a lot closer than at the beginning," Makki said.  
"Remember when we were here for only two days? Now there's only two days left," Mattsun remarked, causing Iwaizumi to freeze.  
"No, that's not it. We've been here for ..." He counted in his mind. "Oh fuck. Is it possible?"  
"Time flew quite fast, right?"  
Iwaizumi nodded. "Yes, especially with that clown over there. I didn't even get to talk to everyone."  
"But you made a friend." Makki shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I heard his name somewhere already, though."

Mattsun thought for a bit. "Hm ... Didn't he win the Best Setter award in middle school?"  
Iwaizumi and Makki's faces showed that the two also remembered hearing of it before.  
"That means he must be pretty good," Iwaizumi said. "Come on, look at him. He'd make a better pop idol, don't you think?"  
"So you think he's attractive?" Makki fluttered his eyelashes, leaning closer to Iwaizumi.  
"That's not it," Iwaizumi pushed his face away, blushing. "I'm just saying that he has the charisma. He attracts people."  
"So you _do_ think that," Matsukawa concluded with a shrug.  
"What's the point?" Iwaizumi was a little flustered. He ignored the chuckles of his dear friends, quietly glancing at Oikawa.

Well, he wasn't bad looking at all.

"Excuse me now," Oikawa smiled, leaving the group behind as he joined his three friends.  
"Do you have a minute?"

Mattsun and Makki looked at Iwaizumi expectantly, but Oikawa shook his head.  
"All of you. I want to tell you something."  
They exchanged looks before they nodded and followed Oikawa as he took them behind the hotel.

"What do you want to tell us?" Iwaizumi asked, leaning against a tree.  
Oikawa sat down on the grass, having the rest slowly follow him. Before he spoke, he locked his phone – which was ringing again – and put it in his pocket. Then he nervously tugged at the hem of his shirt; he’d put it back on when he got cold.  
"Is everything ok?" Hanamaki asked.  
Oikawa nodded. He smiled to himself.  
"I feel a little embarrassed, actually," he started. Iwaizumi patiently waited for him to speak and Oikawa was thankful for it. "Um, well ... I just want to say ... That you guys are the first real friends I ever made and I'm very grateful. Thank you!" He bowed in his sitting position. "But I have one more wish for us ..." He stopped playing with his shirt. "Let's play volleyball together! Let's make it into the same group, okay? I want to be your friend on court, too." He looked at them.

For a moment or two, the boys kept quiet; a bit surprised by Oikawa's sudden outburst of love.

"But," Iwaizumi started. "What's there to be embarrassed about?"  
Oikawa, Hanamaki and Matsukawa looked at him as if he'd fallen on his head.  
"I want to play volleyball with you, too. I want to be your friend, too. There's nothing to be embarrassed for."  
"Iwa-chan ..." Makki said with a tear at the corner of his eye.  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. He offered Oikawa his hand. "I'll count on you."  
Oikawa truly felt like his heart had been stabbed again as he looked into those eyes.  
And it hit him, then, that life really was unfair: Iwaizumi didn’t deserve any of the pain he’d endured all his life. He didn’t deserve to suffer like that.

"Oikawa, are you crying?!"  
"No, that's dust!"  
"We're outside."  
"Fairy dust, you know, whatever. _I'm not crying_!"  
"He's totally crying.”

Oikawa wrapped Iwaizumi in a hug. He would have restrained himself if the rest of the class were around. But he just couldn't resist the urge to let him know:  
 _You have me, Iwa-chan._

"Um." Iwaizumi felt a little awkward, being pulled into a hug just like that; especially because they were still on the floor and his spine was a little uncomfortably bent for that hug.  
"Group hug!" Mattsun and Makki suddenly joined in, wrapping themselves around the other two.  
Oikawa had stopped crying by then, but he still held tightly onto Iwaizumi, pressing himself close.

Iwaizumi's heart skipped as he finally gave in and leaned his cheek on Oikawa's shoulder.  
They quietly stayed in a hug for six seconds before realizing it was awkward.

"Bro, no homo," Mattsun said as they parted, causing them all to burst into laughter.  
"Should we head inside?" Makki suggested.  
"Dinner will be ready soon," Iwaizumi said, dreamily.  
"Aliens ..."  
...  
"Oikawa what the fuck."

They went separate ways once they reached the hotel because they still had some time until dinner.  
The first thing Oikawa did when they came to their room was change his clothes, so he could quickly snuggle up to a still-shirtless Iwaizumi.   
"Thank you," Oikawa sang.  
"Don't thank me while you use me for your filthy hugging needs," Iwaizumi groaned, petting his back anyway. "Are you better now?"  
"Mhm, all thanks to you. I'm really glad we met."  
"To think that I wanted to stab you just a few days ago ..." Iwaizumi sighed.

"Your phone's ringing."  
"I don't wanna answer."

Iwaizumi pushed himself away from Oikawa slightly to put on a jumper. "Should I answer? Is somebody bothering you?"  
"No, no, please don't," Oikawa declined, gesturing with his hands. "It's nothing, I just don't feel like answering." He put his phone on silent mode and shoved it away before climbing on his side of the bed. He just lay down, supporting his face with his hands and bent his legs closer to his body.  
"I'm not buying this shit," Iwaizumi said. "But I won't make you tell me."

"Thank you," Oikawa murmured, closing his eyes.  
Iwaizumi watched him for some time. Even though he looked peaceful, he didn't seem at peace with himself. Iwaizumi sat next to him, brushing away the hair that fell on Oikawa's face with his fingers. It made the setter smile, while his cheeks turned light pink.  
None of them said anything. They just rested, Oikawa placing his head in Iwaizumi's lap.  
Iwaizumi watched his roommate. He observed his cast, a small scratch on his other elbow and his ankle.

Indeed, Oikawa was hurt in many ways, broken and scratched, slowly falling apart. But Iwaizumi was there to heal.

Slowly, tenderly, almost too quietly.

But as long as they were together ... things should be fine, right?


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when everything was about to get adorable and fluffy ...

"Iwaizumi-san," a call came from the left and above.  
The boy raised his gaze. "Can I help you?"  
"I'm sorry to bother you at dinner." The girl talking to him bowed. She had big grey eyes and dark hair, styled into ponytails and a smaller birth mark above her upper lip. "You're Oikawa's roommate, right?" she asked. She seemed nervous but Iwaizumi couldn't tell why.

"Yes," he said, restraining himself from rolling his eyes.  
"Could I ... talk to you for a bit?" she asked, grabbing the edge of her silky shirt.  
"Okay. Sit down, I was just finished." He patted the space next to him.  
The girl smiled and sat next to him, careful not to sit too close.  
"Do you know where he is?"  
Iwaizumi pushed his plate away as he felt it being pulled away.  
"Don't worry, we'll take care of this," Mattsun said.  
"Thank you," Iwaizumi looked in their direction. "I'll see you then," he added, seeing them nod in return.  
"I'm sorry! Were you talking to them?" His classmate reflected fear and regret in her eyes but Iwaizumi shook his head.  
"It's okay. What did you want to talk about?" He took a closer look at her face. Her features were soft, round and she seemed sad. Or more like ... concerned.  
"Ah, right ..." she paused. She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to start the topic. She opened her backpack, pulling out an envelope. "Could you give him this? It arrived in the hotel mail today. I think it's from the hospital."  
Iwaizumi nodded while taking the letter. "Okay, thank you."  
"Um," she said. She seemed troubled. "I don't know if he's told you, but ... I've known him since middle school. It isn't really obvious, though, because we didn't get to talk much here but ... I know something's bothering him. Look out for him, okay?" She pleaded with her eyes. Her wrists, pressed against the bench, were shaking.  
Iwaizumi smiled at her. "I'll make sure," he said. "Thank you, I'll give this to him now," he said, lifting the envelope again. She nodded and thanked him before Iwaizumi excused himself and left.

"Oikawa, this came for you-"  
"Stay where you are."  
Iwaizumi froze, thinking it was him Oikawa talked to but when he looked at him again, he noticed that the setter was having a conversation over the phone.  
"Oh my god, since when do you even care? I _know_ that I can't play for some time, thanks for reminding me. What do you mean, are you out of your mind? You can't do this- oh my god. Goodbye." He hung up and tossed his phone on the bed, miserably sighing.

"Everything alright?" Iwaizumi asked. "Was that your mom?"  
"Dad," Oikawa replied. "Apparently I'm the family disappointment." He shrugged.  
"This came in for you," Iwaizumi handed him the envelope.  
"Ah, thanks. These must be my copies of the scans." He carelessly tossed them on his nightstand. "Are Mattsun and Makki coming then?"  
"They said they would." Iwaizumi watched him. Even though he pretended or maybe tried to be relaxed, it was pretty obvious that he wasn't.  
"Take off your shirt and lie on your stomach," Iwaizumi said.  
"What?"  
"Just do it, come on." Iwaizumi prepared the bed while Oikawa took off his shirt, still a bit confused.

"Lie down," Iwaizumi pointed. Once Oikawa did that, Iwaizumi rolled up his sleeves and started touching his back. He pressed occasionally, just to feel his muscles and which ones were tense.  
"What's on your mind?" he asked. "Try to relax."  
Oikawa huffed heavily. "My parents are taking away my scholarship until I start playing again. Apparently." He closed his eyes every time Iwaizumi pressed against his back more strongly.  
"You're really tense," he said. "And why are they doing that?"  
"I don't know. Because I'm careless and keep getting hurt? Or something, I don't know."  
"Relax."  
"Like it's my fault that I got injured. I mean, it probably also is a little but I didn't just break my bones on purpose. Who does that?"  
"Some people do," Iwaizumi said, still doing his thing. "But I understand what you're trying to say."  
Iwaizumi's voice was unusually calm, soft and it calmed Oikawa down.

"Yo!"  
"Oh, Hajime's giving you a massage, lucky!"  
Mattsun and Makki quickly made their way on the bed. They each had chewing gum in their mouth.  
"Huh?" Oikawa asked.  
"I used to work part time at my uncle's spa. He taught me a lot." Iwaizumi continued massaging him, using just enough force to make him slowly fall asleep but keep him awake with every harder touch.  
"It feels really good," Oikawa murmured.  
"I know right?" Makki said. "Especially with those arms."  
"He stopped giving us massages because we made too many inappropriate sounds," Mattsun told. "But maybe he's changed his mind?"  
Iwaizumi glared. "Never. I’ll kick each of you in the ass."  
"You can give us a massage for our wedding gift."  
"Really, we'd give anything to receive that again."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "I'll think about that."

"So you guys are like ... super serious?" Oikawa asked, switching his look up at them.  
"Of course," Makki said.  
"We're soulmates," Mattsun agreed.  
"They've always been together," Iwaizumi added.  
"Mhm," Oikawa said. "Nice. Can I fall asleep?"  
"Go ahead," Iwaizumi said. "I _am_ trying to relax you after all."  
"Okay ..." Oikawa mumbled something else but the boys could no longer understand it.

"Oikawa ..."  
"Mmm ..."  
Iwaizumi lightly shook Oikawa's body again. "It's dinner time," Iwaizumi said.  
"Are we alone ..." Oikawa mumbled and he kept his eyes closed, even though Iwaizumi was not going to let him fall asleep again.  
"Yes, Mattsun and Makki just left. Come on."  
"Give me ... a kiss ..."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna give you a good kick to your butt, come on." He kissed Oikawa's cheek before messing up his hair. "You slept for two hours."

Oikawa stretched. "I'm glad," he said. "Thank you for the massage. I feel a lot better now," he smiled, sitting up. He yawned.  
"Put your shirt on before you go. I'll be going ahead of you, I'm hungry. I'll see you there." He waved him off, not listening to his sleepy complaints.

Oikawa showed up about ten minutes later, no sign of sleepiness anywhere. His neat smile brightened up the room and immediately several girls came up to him and offered their help.

"Are we going to put up with that for three years?" Iwaizumi asked his friends.  
"Probably," Mattsun nodded. "But don't worry. Makki and I believe he will stay loyal to you."  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as he quietly growled in discomfort. "We're not dating," he said.  
"Oh, nobody said anything about dating," Matsukawa pretended to be all innocent all of a sudden.  
"I wonder why you'd think of that," Hanamaki narrowed his eyebrows, scanning Iwaizumi's blushing face.  
"Disgusting." Iwaizumi only shook his head and continued eating his dinner before his friends could add anything to the discussion.

"Yahoo," Oikawa greeted when he finally joined them.  
"What took you so long?" Iwaizumi asked. He glared at him.  
"I happen to be very popular." Oikawa shrugged. "You don't have to wait for me. I actually want to talk to one of my friends for a bit, so please go ahead of me when you're finished."

...

"So weird."  
"Is he acting?"  
"Are you sick?"

Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows a bit offended.  
"It's so weird when you're polite." Iwaizumi blinked at him.  
"It doesn't happen _that_ rarely," Oikawa protested.  
The other three just gave him a 'really?' look for a moment before they proceeded with their meal.  
Oikawa gasped. "Omg. Hmpf."

"Oh, Iwa, can you take my phone upstairs, please?" Oikawa offered him his phone. Just as Iwaizumi took over, the screen turned on and announced an incoming call from his mother.  
"Oh, ignore this. If my dad calls, answer and say that I'm showering. Thank you!"  
Iwaizumi nodded, a bit confused, but he tagged along without further questions.

"We won't be coming tonight," Mattsun said as they went toward their dorm. "We have other plans."  
"Wanna hear the details?"  
"No thank you, you're so disgusting," Iwaizumi said. "I know exactly what you'll be doing even without any 'details'."  
"But look, my dear friend." Makki put his arm around Iwaizumi's shoulder. It was easy to do that because Iwaizumi was considerably smaller. "You get to spend some more time with your favorite classmate."  
"A star setter from Tokyo, the most popular guy in class, who happens to also be crushing madly on you," Mattsun added, winking.  
"Go to your room," Iwaizumi pushed them away and left them laughing.  
"Believe me, Hajime, you'll thank us one day."  
"Just you wait, honey, just you wait."

Iwaizumi sighed when he sat on the chair by the table. He didn't want to call his mother. He didn’t want to hear her voice betray her and he didn't want to listen to his sister asking if he would be home soon. Telling him that she's bored, now that she's all alone.  
Apparently, Iwaizumi's dad has been spending his entire days outside looking for a job so his wife wouldn't have to move for long.  
She was going to wait for Iwaizumi to return home before leaving. Iwaizumi really didn't want that. He didn't want to see her go.

So he put down his phone without calling anyone at all.

He hated the fact that he suddenly didn't know what to do since Oikawa wasn't in the room. He didn't want it to be like that. But it was.

He just miserably dragged himself to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He didn't want Oikawa to see him do what he was about to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Geez, what were you doing for so long?" Oikawa asked, annoyed because he hadn’t been able to go to the bathroom earlier.  
> "Pleasing myself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A more appropriate summary for this chapter would be _The one where Iwaizumi finally opens up_  
>  But I do not regret putting that summary at all. Not even a little bit. Have fun reading ^^ (as much as you can in this chapter)
> 
> Also, only 10 chapters away from ending this! Wow, I almost can't believe it.

Iwaizumi let water pour all over his exposed, naked body. He didn't really care about the shower itself.  
He just let it go.  
He didn't know if it was a result of being so tired and finally fully realizing what happened in that forest, how he was _lucky_ to be alive. Or perhaps things have just reached the limit and he couldn't take it anymore.

Falling in love with this _idiot_ that has no self-awarness and is rude to anyone and everyone, pretending to be this perfect little boy. Suddenly losing his mother, too, like his sister wasn't enough.  
It was too much for Iwaizumi.

So he just cried, let his tears blend in with the water coming from the shower and he didn't care. It made him feel better, at least.

He didn't like to be seen in such vulnerable condition. He didn't like to cry in front of others. Because he knew that there were people out there living in even worse conditions, with much more crap filling their lives and he didn't feel like he had the right to feel bad about himself. It made him feel weak.  
And besides, he knew that he needed to be strong. He needed to be strong for his little sister, for his dear mother and for his father, who had worked his entire life just so his family could live a fairly normal life.

He was in no position to collapse.

"Iwa-chan, you're taking forever!" Oikawa yelled in front of the bathroom and brought him back out of his thoughts.  
He washed his face to erase any signs that would have made it obvious that he had been crying. He especially didn't want _Oikawa_ to know.

"Sorry," he mumbled when he came from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. He headed directly to his bed because he forgot his clothes under his pillow.  
"Geez, what were you doing for so long?" Oikawa asked, annoyed because he hadn’t been able to go to the bathroom earlier.  
"Pleasing myself," Iwaizumi sarcastically answered and made Oikawa grimace in disgust before he disappeared into the bathroom, too.

It took Oikawa nearly forty minutes to get out as well, because he needed to style his hair 'back to its natural shape' and take special care of his 'naturally flawless' face.

"I really hate this cast," Oikawa said as he returned. "It's so hard to shower in this. And it's ugly."  
Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to draw on it?"  
Oikawa frowned. "Draw?"  
"Yes." Iwaizumi nodded. "My sister broke her leg once and she really hated her cast as well. She was very upset so I drew on it. I was like ... ten when that happened so the cast was actually super ugly but she said she loved it." Iwaizumi covered his mouth with embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm blabbering."  
Oikawa smiled. "No, I don't mind. Keep going. Do you have a marker?"  
"Yeah, come here."

Iwaizumi needed a minute to find a marker in his bag. Meanwhile Oikawa leaned his head on his shoulder. Iwaizumi pulled his arm in his lap, slowly creating art on Oikawa's cast.  
It was very relaxing for both.  
"Tell me about your sister," Oikawa said, still leaning on him.  
"Which one?"  
"Both."  
"Alright." Iwaizumi leaned his own head against Oikawa's for a moment. It was like Oikawa just _knew_ what he needed to say.

"My little sister is very adorable. Maybe I'll let you meet her one day. As I said, she's four. She loves me very much. I think she was an accident, though but I'm so glad she came. She has the most adorable smile ever, I promise. And when she looks at you with those big eyes ... I love spending time with her." Iwaizumi smiled to himself.  
"She sounds very cute," Oikawa chuckled. "I hope I get to meet her one day. What about your other sister? Tell me about her. You seemed to be really close." Oikawa intentionally snuggled a bit closer to Iwaizumi.

The boy kept drawing as he spoke again and this time his voice sounded a little more distanced.  
"Ayu ... She was great. She was the best sister I could ever ask for. She was my best friend and I loved her to death. I still do. She was always so nice and she didn't have any evil in her. I used to be scared of thunder, too. She would let me sleep in her bed then." Iwaizumi smiled to himself. That was probably the reason he let Oikawa hold his hand, too.  
"She worked so hard in school so she could get a good job and help supporting us. She always told me to stay strong no matter what and to fight for what I believe in. When mom had to work, she took care of me."  
He wasn’t really seeing Oikawa anymore. "The day she went hiking ... She was so happy because it's been a great wish of hers to go. The forecast said that the weather was going to be _okay_. I remember hugging her for the last time. I remember her smile and her last words ... 'Next time, I'm taking you with me!' I ... miss her so much."

A single tear dropped on Oikawa's cast, blurring the trail of the marker and spreading into a stain.  
Iwaizumi only noticed then that he started crying again.  
"I'm sorry, I wet your cast, I'm so sorry." He started talking but Oikawa sat up, looking at Iwaizumi with teary eyes.  
"Iwaizumi, I'm so sorry," he said. He didn't really care about his cast since it was only a small drop and it didn't do any harm. He leaned into a hug, pressing Iwaizumi closely to himself.  
Iwaizumi hugged Oikawa, too. It was better than a thousand words unsaid.  
Iwaizumi quietly, calmly cried into Oikawa's shoulder without a single sob.  
"Thank you," he whispered.

Oikawa moved a bit to catch Iwaizumi's face between his hands. The cold feeling of the cast didn't bother Iwaizumi. Oikawa wiped his tears away, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"You have no idea how happy I am that we met," Oikawa said. "You have no idea ..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please check out my other writings, too <3  
> (I actually posted a new one!)  
> And maybe follow me/talk to me on tumblr (@push-it-hajime). I'd be very happy to chat ^^


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can I hug you?"  
> "Yeah."

"No, no, na-a, I'm not doing this."  
"Come on, they won't notice."  
"But that's officially worse than random eavesdropping, you know that, it's in our rules."  
"But it's for their own good, right?"  
"If we get caught ..."  
"We won't get caught."  
"It's past bedtime, too."  
"Since when do you care about that? What are you, a baby? Come on. Let's stalk our best friend."

Once Iwaizumi has calmed down, he thanked Oikawa again and snuggled up in his lap.  
"I hate myself for saying this but I don't even feel the need to push you through that window anymore," he said, irritated.  
Oikawa chuckled. "Wow, thanks, what a ... nice thing to say. Probably the nicest thing you ever said to me." He played with Iwaizumi's hair with a bright smile on his face.  
"Really? Wow, you must be an asshole, then."  
Oikawa quickly smacked Iwaizumi's forehead with a pouty expression. "You're so rude!"  
Iwaizumi laughed. "But you like it, don't you?"  
Oikawa blushed, suddenly unable to function normally.

Iwaizumi grinned, pulling him down by his collar and pressed a rough kiss to him, biting his lower lip. Oikawa returned the favor and secured support on the mattress with his arm before he took over control once he was on top.

"I can't hear anything," Makki said.  
"Me neither. Maybe they're kissing. Or sleeping." Mattsun shrugged but he pressed his ear even closer against the door.  
"Of course they're not sleeping, I vote for kissing."  
"Me too."  
"What ... are you doing?"  
They even hissed a little as they jumped up, only to stare at their professor.  
"Um," Makki started. He did not have an answer for that, even though he usually had a few prepared.  
"Come with me, you two," he said. "Since you like staying up so late, I have the perfect task for you."  
"Oh man ..."  
"Won't get caught, huh? Way to go."

"Did you hear something outside?" Oikawa asked, lifting himself from Iwaizumi's neck for a moment.  
"No, there's nothing," Iwaizumi panted. "Go on."  
Oikawa smirked at him before burying his lips back at Iwaizumi's neck and he made him release a quiet sound of joy.

"Wait, stop, fuck," Iwaizumi suddenly said.  
"Which one now?" Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi confused.  
"Wait. And stop. I need a mirror." Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa away, standing up from the bed.  
"What? You look fine, what ... What do you mean?" Oikawa didn't have the slightest clue what had just happened to him.  
" _Fuck_ ," Iwaizumi cursed from the bathroom. He rushed back with an angry expression, aimed straight into Oikawa's face. "How am I supposed to walk around with _this_?!" He pointed to a big hickey on his neck.  
Oikawa blinked a few times. Was he thinking about that while they were making out ... "I have makeup, we can cover it up. Were you ... Were you just thinking about that the whole time?"  
Iwaizumi shook his head. "No, it just randomly crossed my mind. Are you sure the makeup thing is gonna work?"  
"Yes, I've done it many times, I know how it works. Just don't get it wet or don't rub it and it'll be fine." He leaned against the wall with his back.  
"Alright. Oh ... I kinda killed it now, didn't I?" Iwaizumi frowned.  
"It's fine. We're at a school camp, anyway." He chuckled. "But I still wanna hug you, so come here. Aw, Iwa-chan, you're so adorable."  
"Shut up."

Iwaizumi crawled next to Oikawa and he yawned when he leaned against his chest.  
"I thought you preferred being a bottom more, though," he said.  
Oikawa blushed. "Don't just mention it so carelessly!" He wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi. "I like both. It really depends on the day, though."  
"Mhm ..." Iwaizumi was slowly falling asleep but he kept talking. "Tomorrow's our last night here," he said. "I can't believe I haven't killed you yet."  
"Now you're talking like you hate me again!"  
"I do," he simply replied right before closing his eyes. "I do ... Because you're so perfect ..." Every word he said was more mumbled and difficult to understand but Oikawa managed to understand the meaning.  
Even though Iwaizumi was already asleep, Oikawa smiled and kissed his hair. "I hate you for that, too," he said, before fixing the blanket and sinking into the pillow. He was still hugging Iwaizumi, as if he was protecting him from anything that could harm him.

"Nee-chan ..."  
It was around 2 a.m. Iwaizumi was asleep but he wasn't resting. His eyes were shut tight, his forehead was sweaty and he moved as if his body had gotten taken over by terrible cramps.  
"Nee-chan ..."  
He kept calling her. Not by her name because he didn't remember it. He didn't even remember her face.  
He just knew that in his mind, she was yelling something his way. He couldn't tell what because the sound wasn't clear at all and her face was all blurry.

"I-wa ... -cha-n ..." He could finally understand the words she was saying. Iwa-chan?

"Iwa-chan! Wake up, can you hear me?" Oikawa shook Iwaizumi's body, hoping that the boy heard him. Iwaizumi had started with just saying 'nee-chan' again and again, but after a moment or two he had started screaming so loud that he woke Oikawa.  
"Iwa-chan, you're dreaming, come on."  
Iwaizumi suddenly sat up, panting and sweating. Oikawa immediately pulled him into a hug and held him still.  
"It's ok, it was just a dream."  
"Nee-chan ..." Iwaizumi repeated. "I had a dream about her. I couldn't remember her face and she was standing on the top of that mountain ... I don't know what her face looks like." Iwaizumi was shocked, to say the least, and breathing heavily, the nightmare still fresh in his mind.  
"It's okay ... Calm down, I got you. You don't remember your sister? Do you wanna look at the photo you showed me?" Oikawa kept patting Iwaizumi's back and he talked quietly, calmly into his ear.  
Iwaizumi nodded. "Yes ... My phone is somewhere ... there ..." Iwaizumi reached toward his nightstand. "I'll tell you my password."  
"Okay. It's okay, come here." Oikawa pulled Iwaizumi into another hug, making sure he calmed his breathing and stopped shaking.

Oikawa found the photo Iwaizumi showed him the other day and he placed the phone into Iwaizumi's hand.  
"Here she is, she's very pretty. You didn't forget her."  
Iwaizumi only took a quick glance at the photo before he locked his phone and put it away.  
"Right. She was ... She was very pretty." He leaned on Oikawa's shoulder. "Thank you. I'm sorry I woke you up."  
"It's okay. Can I hug you?"  
"Yeah."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a special surprise in the next chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I added a little more angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not sorry.
> 
> He is named after Oikawa's voice actor.

"Yahoo!"  
Some of the girls at the cafeteria almost dropped their fruit as they stared at the tall man waving at them, flashing that perfect smile in their direction.  
"E-excuse me, who are you?"  
"My name is Oikawa Daisuke, pleased to meet you!"

"Iwa-chan, are you ready? We're gonna be late for breakfast!"  
"Could you give me a minute? This makeup thing is way too complicated."  
Oikawa angrily groaned. "Because _you_ said you wanted to do it _alone_. I'm stepping in." He rolled up his sleeves, entering the bathroom.  
He found Iwaizumi struggling and trying to figure out what to even do.  
"Oh my god. Come here. Sit." Oikawa pushed Iwaizumi down. "Stay still."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "I'm not your dog."  
Oikawa started applying makeup but he quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You're my-"  
" _Don't_ even say it. Whatever you were going to say; just don't."  
Oikawa huffed. "Hmpf. Stop moving, I'm going to fuck it up if you keep moving."

In about ten minutes or so they were ready to finally go.  
"Is it really okay?" Iwaizumi asked one more time, worry written all over his face.  
" _Yes_ , come on." He dragged him down the hall.  
"Oikawa-san!" Two girls ran up to him. "Oikawa-san, why didn't you tell us you have a brother?"  
"He looks just like you! Even his smile is so perfect ... How old is he?"  
Oikawa blinked. His ... his what?  
"Uh, he's ... twenty-one," he answered but he wasn't there with his mind anymore.  
The girls whined about him being too old as they left them in the hall. Iwaizumi waved in front of his face.

"Hello?"  
"What is he doing here ..." Oikawa frowned, raging inside. "I can't believe this. He had to come on the last day? I'm going to show him ..."  
"Alright, calm down," Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa's hand. "Don't make a scene now. You'll get in trouble. Do you want me to assist?"  
Oikawa sighed. "No. Can we ... come in separately? I don't want him to make fun of you. Don't worry, I'll handle him. Thanks anyway," he shot a quick smile at Iwaizumi before hopping off on his crutches.  
The boy sighed as he stood at the middle of the hallway. What was Oikawa getting himself into again.

"What are you doing here?"  
"Yahoo, Tooru-chan!"  
Some of the girls took extra portions of their breakfast just so they could watch the Oikawa brothers for a little longer. Nobody could blame them, though, having two such pretty men in the room so suddenly.  
One of the girls even got a nosebleed.  
Tooru didn't seem too happy. But he figured he needed to put on an act in front of his classmates.  
"I came to say hello," his brother lied with that perfect smile of his. "They told me you'd be here. But don't bother, you can get your breakfast."  
Tooru rolled his eyes. "I'm suddenly not hungry." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. He immediately received a 'watch your attitude' look but he didn't pay much attention to it.

Iwaizumi walked in just a minute or so after him and joined Mattsun and Makki by their table.  
"Is this going to end up badly?" Makki asked.  
"Probably."  
"Should we help?" Mattsun glanced at the brothers by the side of the room; they were both smiling and pretending they got along very well.  
"Not yet," Iwaizumi replied. "But I'll keep an eye on them."

As usually, the class gathered in the hotel classroom after breakfast. They were going to have lessons or get tasks from their teacher.  
But the teacher was a little late that morning, much to their surprise.  
"Good morning." He came in five minutes after the lesson should have started. "I'm sorry for being late. Oikawa Tooru," he called.  
"Yes ..."  
"You're excused from today's class. Please step outside."  
"Excuse moi? Did I do something wrong?" Everyone was looking at him, more or less surprised.  
The teacher didn't look comfortable at all. "Just ... leave, please. I'm not allowed to say."

"Okay ..." Oikawa slowly stood up, confused as to what was going on. He suspected a certain family member had something to do with it, but he didn't ask the professor about it. If his family was behind it, they could have gone so far as to threaten the professor, or they’d simply given him a few reasons not to speak.

He exited the classroom, closing the door normally behind him as he heard someone push themselves off the wall.  
"Finally," Daisuke said.  
"Not you, I thought you'd have left by now." Tooru glared at his brother.  
"You and I need a little talk, Chubby-cheeks." He gestured for him to follow.  
Oikawa didn't really have a choice and hopped behind his brother.  
"You did this? What did you say to him? He was shaking."  
Daisuke looked over his shoulder. "The professor? I just told him not to talk about it in front of the class. I thought you'd be embarrassed. And I didn't want you to become the loser of the class again," he grinned. He grabbed Tooru's wrist and rolled up his sleeve. "And we certainly don't want _this_ kind of drama again, do we?" He tossed Tooru's arm carelessly against his body and kept walking.  
Tooru swallowed his own comeback because he felt it wasn't the moment to use it. Instead, he only scanned his brother's figure from head to toe. "Why are you here?"

"To remind you what a loser you are." Daisuke simply shrugged. "And to tell you that you're basically wasting your time here. Mom wants you to transfer. She said you won't do any good in volleyball if you keep getting injured. And to be honest? I don't see a future for you in volleyball, either."  
Tooru stared at Daisuke. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened, simply unable to process the information he just received. He stared like that for solid two minutes while his brother enjoyed the view across the tennis court; two women playing in short skirts and open shirts.

"T... Transfer? Where?"  
"I don't know, some boarding school, apparently. You should really ask her about it. She called you many times, you know. Is your phone broken or something?"  
Oikawa couldn't even stutter properly, he was so shocked. He felt like somebody had slammed a hammer directly to the top of his head. "No, that definitely can't happen, je le vais pas permettre I can't."  
"Je m'en fous, Tooru." Daisuke was now staring directly into the bottom of Tooru's soul. "But as I am your loving big brother, I am going to propose a deal now."  
"I don't want to hear about your sick deals," Tooru shook his head and crossed his arms in front of him as sign of rejection. "Tell her I'm not going anywhere."  
Daisuke let out a painful cry. "See, if you just weren't so childish ..."

Back in the class, Mattsun and Makki kept bugging Iwaizumi and passed him notes. They knew that Iwaizumi was worried, and when the boy was worried, the situation must have been very serious. So they poked him until the latter raised his arm.  
"Yes, Iwaizumi?"  
"I need to use the bathroom."


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So ..."  
> "So ..."

"If you weren't so goddamn irresponsible, you could be practicing at Shiratorizawa right now." Tooru's older brother raised his voice. The fight had been going on for about fifteen minutes now.  
"Oh, wow, okay, _I'm_ the irresponsible one? Remind me again, who’s the one going around making accidental babies?"  
Tooru received a slap across his cheek.  
His brother couldn't believe what he just did; he was an idiot but he never got physically violent with his little brother. But he also couldn't believe what Tooru said to him.  
"That ... was over the line." He took a deep breath to calm down. "At least I'm not unwanted."

Tooru didn't reply. He felt bad about what he said. He had promised not to ever make fun of his brother or ever throw it in his face.  
"Are you gonna stay quiet now?"  
"Oi."

Iwaizumi appeared from around the corner. He had spent about ten minutes to find them and caught the last part of the conversation before he decided it would be a good time to step in. "Leave him alone."  
Daisuke raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me you got a boyfriend now, Tooru?"  
"In fact, he does." Iwaizumi locked his fingers with Tooru's. The latter blushed madly and barely dared to look up. He wasn't sure if Iwaizumi was serious or just saying that to protect him.  
"Iwa ... ?"  
"You know what happens if mom finds out, right," Daisuke said. "She'll definitely want you to get out of here then."  
"Tooru isn't going anywhere," Iwaizumi spoke again, his voice steady, intimidating. "And if you don't stop harassing him, I'll make sure myself you physically won't be able to do so anymore."  
"And we'll assist," Hanamaki and Matsukawa suddenly appeared and formed a shield in front of Tooru.  
His eyes filled with tears but he kept quiet.

His brother merely laughed at them, waving them off carelessly.  
"You're still just a weak little boy, Tooru." He shrugged. "You need a protection squad. How pathetic of you." He chuckled. "Anyway, my job here is done. I'd love to stick around but I have a _baby_ to take care of, as you mentioned before. His name is Takeru, by the way. In case you forgot to ask two months ago."

Oikawa looked down as his brother left. He felt bad.  
"What's his deal?" Mattsun asked.  
"Guys ..." Oikawa didn't know whether he wanted to cry or laugh.  
"You don't need to say it," Mattsun patted his back. "We kinda have to go back to class now, though," he added.  
"Right, how did you get here?" Iwaizumi asked. He scanned his friends. He wondered why they came in the first place.  
"Mattsun faked sickness. I swear, he'd make an amazing actor." Makki grinned. "Hang in there," he smacked Oikawa's back, Mattsun following doing the same as they ran off.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa were left alone. They were still holding hands and they felt awkward.  
"So ..."  
"So ..."

Nothing.

"Did you mean it?" Oikawa asked hopefully. "When you said that ..."  
Iwaizumi didn't answer right away. He took some time to look at Oikawa's face. "At this point, I can't even say I don't know you well enough, can I?" He took his other hand in his. "Will you be my boyfriend?"  
Oikawa's blushing face could be compared to the sun that very moment. He looked down and smiled. "Of course!" He leaned in for a kiss and hugged Iwaizumi's neck.

Daisuke watched them from his car, smirking to himself in amusement.  
"Aye, little brother, maybe you're not a loser after all." He shook his head. Bothering him now would be just idiotic.  
Perhaps he decided to leave it to their parents, as he only drove away without further attempts to get Oikawa to _behave_.

"Wait, Iwa-chan, how did you know you had to come?" Oikawa kind of forced Iwaizumi to hold his hand (by pressing Iwaizumi’s hand on top of the one that was holding his crutch) as they walked back to their class.  
"I was worried about you."  
"Eeeeehh?! No way," Oikawa exclaimed, taken aback by Iwaizumi's honest answer.  
"Can I worry about my boyfriend?" Iwaizumi asked, a grumpy expression taking over his face while he shoved his other hand into his pocket.  
"But I wasn't your boyfriend then!" Oikawa gasped. He started fanboying on his own while Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes and kept quiet.

"You can't go back to class, right? Or do you think that was just for the talk with your brother?"  
Oikawa shrugged. "He sent me out. I don't have to come back. Let's ditch and make out!" He exclaimed in a cheerful tone.  
Iwaizumi coughed and choked on his own saliva for a moment, before glaring up at Oikawa. "Are you nuts? I told you that I got to this school with a scholarship, I can't really afford mistakes."  
Oikawa pouted. "You didn't seem bothered by that when you threatened to kill me the first few days. Oh, and the time we got sent to the principal? You didn't really mention any of that in your defense." Oikawa was offended. And a little childish. But Iwaizumi quickly saw through it.  
"That's because I accept the consequences of my actions, unlike you. Even though I should actually thank you. I didn't get suspended or expelled because of you."  
When they were at the principal's office, Oikawa had used his ultimate weapon; his powerful parents. And since Oikawa did not suffer any consequences, Iwaizumi didn't, either.

Oikawa grinned. "You _thanked_ me for something, oh my god! I want to hold your hand and squish your cheeks and-"  
"You're being stupid," Iwaizumi said, pressing his hand against Oikawa's mouth. "Anyway, let's just go back to class."  
"But ..." Oikawa seemed disappointed.  
"We can make out in the evening. Come on, be responsible for once."

Iwaizumi started walking away and shoved his hands in his pockets. Oikawa blushed, standing still for a moment or two before he caught up and frowned because he couldn't hold Iwa-chan's hand because of his crutches.  
Iwaizumi thought his puffy cheeks and his frown were cute but he only glared at him and called him childish.

By the time they actually got to the class, the lesson was already over.  
"Oikawa-san, do you have a moment?" professor asked.  
"Mhm ... I know why you sent me out, though. And I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. You still get to see my pretty-"  
"Shut up, Shittykawa." Iwaizumi smacked the back of his head while the professor sighed.  
"Oh," he said. "Can I still have a talk with you after lunch?"  
Oikawa bit his lip. He knew nothing good could ever come from 'I need to talk to you' and he was a little concerned. But he slowly nodded anyway. "Yeah, sure!"  
The professor excused himself and left Oikawa and Iwaizumi alone.

"Are you okay?" Iwaizumi asked.  
"Huh? Yes, don't worry!" Oikawa flashed another perfect smile toward Iwaizumi.

_Fake._

"You don't need to worry about transferring," Iwaizumi said. "You're staying here."  
"Yeah ..." Oikawa smiled, this time genuinely. "I am." He bent down to kiss Iwaizumi on the lips, supporting his body on his crutches. Iwaizumi took a step closer, hugging Oikawa's body.

"I told you, Makki, they _are_ gay for each other."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please try not to fangirl.  
> Who am I kidding, go ahead, I fangirled too when I read what's in this chapter.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa was, nicely put, confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick and depressed so I apologize if there are any mistakes but I really didn't proofread this before posting.
> 
> Anyway, since I will finish posting this fic in less than two weeks and a few people actually read all of it and will -i hope- finish it as well ... and my beta also suggested this, I'm just wondering if anyone wants a sequel to this. I'll probably ask this in notes in every chapter now so if anyone wants to read more of this, do tell and you can even request what you'd like to see in part 2. (I honestly hope so much that this doesn't sound cocky omg I just wanna write and I wanna know what people want to read)

"W-what are you doing here?" Oikawa jumped away from Iwaizumi. The latter was drowning in dark red and he refused to look their way.  
"Well, basically, walking. We're in the middle of the hall, you see," Mattsun shrugged.  
"It's okay, we knew already. I'm not sure about the rest of the class, though, so you might wanna keep it between the four of us, okay?" Makki winked.

Iwaizumi wanted to vanish into the air. He did not feel like listening to 'I told you so' or 'how long did it take, geez' or anything like that.  
But before he knew it, Makki was already by his side, patting his shoulder.  
"Finally at the stage of acceptance, are we now? Great job, buddy I knew you could do it."  
"I'm so proud of you." Mattsun faked getting overwhelmed. "I could cry."  
 _"Shut up!"_ Iwaizumi angrily walked away.

"Iwa-chan, that's not the right way ..."  
"I knew that." Iwaizumi turned around and walked past the three of them, only causing them to burst out in laughter.  
"You got yourself a difficult one," Hanamaki said.  
"But then again, you might be even worse than him," Matsukawa added, leaving Oikawa completely and utterly offended.  
" _Excuse moi?_ Que veux-tu dire? What do you mean?" He gasped.  
"Don't worry."

Mattsun and Makki high-fived before waving at the flustered setter and leaving him behind. Oikawa wasn't too sure what to do, since Iwaizumi didn't seem to actually wait for him.  
"These people are all so ... confusing," he said to himself before he headed toward his room. He assumed there was no class before lunch so he thought about taking a nap, or maybe annoying the hell out of Iwaizumi. Or just, since he was his _boyfriend_ (yeah, that's right), he could maybe make out with him.  
If he wasn't actually angry.

Oikawa was, nicely put, confused.

"Iwa-chan?" he peeked inside from the hall. "Are you still mad?"  
Iwaizumi looked up from his phone and smiled. "I wasn't angry. I guess I was ... uhm ... a little embarrassed because they never saw me kissing before." He tried to shrug it off like it was nothing unusual but Oikawa saw through him.  
He just smiled, opening the door a bit wider. "So it's safe to come in?"  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Don't act like I'm dangerous, you little shit. Come and talk to me."

Oikawa blinked before entering the room. He made sure to lock the door because he didn't want any more surprise guests finding them in an uncomfortable position.  
"Okay. What is it you wanna talk about?"  
Iwaizumi opened his mouth but he didn't get a chance to speak. Oikawa's eyes sparkled.

"Wait! One hour anniversary!"  
"It hasn't been one hour."  
"But how do you know? You don't know _when_ exactly it happened."  
"Yeah, but I know it was less than an hour ago."  
"But it feels like it's been an hour already."  
"Your sense of time is terrible."

Oikawa huffed. "Hmpf. Fine. What do you want to talk about?" He sat down on the bed and cuddled close to Iwaizumi.  
"You. Are you sure you're okay? I mean, from what I heard, your conversation with your brother was pretty-"  
"What did you hear?" Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi, fear reflecting in his eyes.  
"Um ... Quite a lot."  
Oikawa sighed.  
"You might not believe this, but I actually love him, too. I mean of course he's an idiot and I absolutely hate him but I grew up with him and honestly? He's not _bad_ , he was just ... Influenced. We used to be best friends when we were little."  
Iwaizumi stroked Oikawa's hair continuously. It helped calm him down.  
"And I know that I shouldn't have said that about babies ... I haven't even met him yet and I'm his uncle." He sighed again.

Iwaizumi thought for a moment. He kind of knew what Oikawa was trying to tell him.  
"I understand," he said. "But don't mind me when I beat him up if he ever gives you a hard time like that again."  
Oikawa smiled. "Don't worry. Really, I'm just fine. Shouldn't we be like ... packing or something? Isn't that why they gave us the morning off?"

Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa was just trying to change the subject. Almost as bad as saying 'nice weather, huh?'. But he didn't want to bother him too much.  
"Anyone who's packing right now is crazy," Iwaizumi said. "Mattsun and Makki are probably having sex right now. Or some other weird shit."  
"Is that a suggestion?" Oikawa raised his eyebrows.  
"No."  
"Eh."

...  
"I could kiss you, though."

Oikawa's face brightened as he smiled and looked up. He puckered his lips towards Iwaizumi who only chuckled before fulfilling his promise and softly pressing his lips against Oikawa's.  
"Iwa-chan," Oikawa called. "Was I your first kiss?"  
Iwaizumi blushed at the at the setter’s sudden question. "W-what makes you think that?" he asked. Had he done something wrong? Were his kisses bad?  
Oikawa only shrugged. "I just want to know. Because I've kissed other people, too, but with you it feels a little different."  
Iwaizumi blinked. "You mean ... Worse?"  
"Na-a." Oikawa shook his head. "Better. I like it a lot. It makes my heart go doki doki."  
Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" He crossed his arms. "Well I didn't kiss anyone before you so I wouldn't know." His face suddenly darkened. "Except Makki once. He betrayed me. We were playing truth or dare and Mattsun dared him to kiss anyone but him and he ... chose me ..."

Oikawa chuckled but his expression quickly changed to a mixture of amused and worried. "Iwa-chan, you sound like you're telling me about a childhood trauma."  
"I am!" Iwaizumi turned to face Oikawa again. "But I don't really count that since I backed off immediately and slapped his face."  
"Wow, so violent!"  
"It was a natural reaction. I apologized." Iwaizumi shrugged. "Anyway, I answered your question. Satisfied?"  
Oikawa pouted. "Why do you have to be so cold out of nowhere? I like you more when you smile and hug me and give me kisses and tell me I'm pretty-"  
"I never said that."  
"Exactly! But you think I'm pretty, right?"

Iwaizumi didn't answer. He just looked away - and not because he didn't think Oikawa was pretty.  
"Iwa-chan? Do you think I'm pretty or not?" Oikawa's voice gave away that worried, almost scared tone. "Are my cheeks too chubby? Do you think my scars are ugly? Did you mean it when you said the big one makes me look badass? Are you bothered by my hair or something? Cause I can cha-"  
"Does it matter, though?" Iwaizumi cut him off when he felt the moment was right. Oikawa stared at him with slightly parted lips. "Does it matter what others think? I _don't_ think your cheeks are too chubby, do you even have any fat _anywhere_ on your body? Yes, I think you're very pretty. But not because you don't have any fat or because your hair looks so flawless. I think you're pretty because I got to know this other side of you, that, I'm guessing, not many people do. You shouldn't worry about what others think."  
Oikawa opened his mouth to interrupt Iwaizumi but the boy already continued.  
"You're going to say 'but I meant my looks' or something. To be honest, I think you're beautiful. But if you try to make people like you, it automatically makes you look ten times uglier. Because it's fake and with you it even seems to work somehow ... for now. So please, stop worrying about how you look because I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with you."

Oikawa was left quite speechless. He closed his mouth and opened it again in an attempt to speak but nothing came out.  
"I don't care how you act around other people but please try to stay as honest as you can around me," Iwaizumi said and held his hand. "Cause that's who I fell for. You, not some alter ego you use to make it easier for yourself."

Oikawa slowly gulped and nodded. He had no idea what to say.  
"Come here." Iwaizumi pulled him into a hug. "I gave you quite a speech, I'm sorry. I hope you'll think about my words."  
"You're the best, Iwa-chan." Oikawa squeezed him tightly. He didn't want to let go. "Can I move in with your family?"  
"Eh, I think you missed a few steps," Iwaizumi replied, obviously flustered. "And I thought you'd hate to live so poorly ..."  
Oikawa bit his lip. "Right ... I kind of forgot about that." He smiled. "Anyway, you still better introduce your sister to me."  
"You bet I will," Iwaizumi said, stroking Oikawa's hair again. "But if you teach her how to say Iwa-chan, I will burn all your hair and face products, I will wrap you in a volleyball net and I will never give you another massage."

Oikawa thought for a second. "That would be bad ... But you know that I can just go to the spa and get a massage anytime I want-"  
"I don't care! Just don't teach her that."  
"Ah, yes, yes, don't worry." Oikawa pressed a kiss to Iwaizumi's cheek. "You're so adorable when you're angry."


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iwaizumi is being a _tsundere_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god. I can't believe in a bit more than a week this will be _over_. Now a couple of people already said they'd like a sequel, but I'm asking again. I'll also be very happy if you suggest anything and I'll try to work with everything! God. I'm not sure I want to stop posting this yet.

"Ohohoho, Hajime-kun?" Hanamaki spread his body all over Iwaizumi's bed - it was still pushed against Oikawa's so they could sleep closer to each other.  
"Just wait until I write this story about you two," Mattsun said and tried to make Iwaizumi look at him. "I bet you two will be an inspiration to a lot of Shoujo manga artists."  
"It's really not like that ..." Iwaizumi stuttered. He was blushing really hard and he tried to avoid eye contact from his two cunning best friends.

"Did you notice, though? They didn't even look at each other during lunch."  
Makki nodded. "Did you think you could get away with that extremely nsfw kiss in the hall?"  
Iwaizumi chose to stay quiet because he didn't really know how to reply. They were intentionally trying not to make contact because they would probably expose themselves right in front of the whole class if they did.  
And Iwaizumi was especially _not_ willing to show their professor how close they actually got.

Makki rolled over to Iwaizumi and supported his face with his hand.  
"So, my dearest friend, were you ever going to tell us?"  
Iwaizumi pushed him away and he fell on his back. "Shut up," he said.  
"Oh, he _spoke_ to us! From tsun to dere right here, did you see that, Mattsun?"  
"Sure I did." The tall boy placed his hand on his hip as he was standing in front of the bed where Iwaizumi sat.  
"I feel like you're trying to force your parenting kinks on me again," Iwaizumi said, disgusted.  
"What parenting kinks?"  
"You mean the mommy and daddy one? We're over that."

Iwaizumi grimaced. "Ew. _Ew_. Why do you always act like this, then? It's disgusting."  
Makki sighed. "I'm actually just gonna start calling you tsuntsun, I doubt there's any dere in you, my dear lost child."  
"See? This! This is what I'm talking about!" Iwaizumi grabbed a pillow and smashed it against Makki's body. "Stop that!"  
Makki and Mattsun laughed.  
"Where's your boyfriend, though?" Mattsun asked.  
"He's not my boyfriend."  
"Mhm, like Makki isn't my boyfriend, right?"  
Iwaizumi shot a glare at him but it didn't really have the same effect because he was blushing. "He's talking to our professor."  
"Oh boy," Makki said. "What did he do this time?" He relaxed back on the bed, even though Iwaizumi had _not_ even invite him there.  
"He didn't do anything," Iwaizumi told. "I think it's about that asshole brother of his."

"Ah, that ..." Mattsun sighed as he remembered what had happened just a couple of hours ago. "It really explains why Oikawa's such a douchebag, though."  
"He's not," Iwaizumi protested but he quickly defended himself with hopeless arm flailing as the two both looked at him in unison. "I mean ... He's not ... A ... He's okay ... I guess. Yeah, yeah, he's okay. A total idiot but he's fine."

"Aw, Hajime-kun ..." Makki exhaled. "I'll grab him, you tickle."  
Before Iwaizumi knew it, he was trapped in Makki's tight grip while Mattsun tickled all over his body and Iwaizumi had no chance of breaking free. He could easily break their grip if it was only one of them. And if Iwaizumi _knew_ it was going to happen. But they had caught him unprepared, so all he could do was attempt to kick and scream as he begged them to stop. He was laughing, though.  
Iwaizumi was extremely ticklish and his best friends often used it against him. It worked every time.

Suddenly they heard a voice outside of their room. "Gah!"  
The voice belonged to Oikawa but it didn't seem to bother the boys that much. At least Makki and Mattsun, since they kept tickling Iwaizumi, who only resisted more.  
Oikawa managed to open the door in a few minutes and kicked it with his healthy leg so he could hop in. He was amused when he saw his precious boyfriend under his two classmates. Iwaizumi called out to him, asking for help, but Oikawa simply closed the door with a smirk and sat on a chair next to the bed.

"I'm enjoying this."

"No, you're not. Help me or I won't kiss you for a week," Iwaizumi tried again but Oikawa simply laughed it off.  
"That's fine, I'll just kiss you then. You're way too adorable like this." He giggled.  
Mattsun and Makki grinned at each other and continued teasing Iwaizumi for a little longer until they took mercy on him and let him go.

"You're _dead_! I swear, just wait. You're not even gonna see it coming."  
The duo only laughed at him while Oikawa tilted his head a little. "Do you always threaten everyone like this?"  
"He usually does." Makki nodded.  
"But he's actually a dork." Mattsun laughed at the slight blush that was still covering Iwaizumi's face.  
"A dork, you say?" Oikawa smiled. "He is, right? Iwa-chan ~"  
"What." Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa.  
"Sit on the bed, please," he said, pouted, and Iwaizumi had no choice.  
He sat on the bed and looked at him expectantly. "What do you want?"

Mattsun and Makki only watched them, now both on the bed as well. Oikawa pushed himself off the chair directly into Iwaizumi's lap and tackled him down. He didn't care, though. He only snuggled to him with a bright smile on his face.  
"Y-you idiot!" Iwaizumi pushed the cackling Oikawa away and sat back up. He still kept him in his lap, though, when Makki spoke.  
"What did the teacher want?"

Oikawa sighed as he put his arm around Iwaizumi's neck. "He wanted to talk to me about my situation at home and stuff. He looked worried. So then I just told him that I'm definitely not transferring anywhere."  
As Oikawa was explaining, Iwaizumi petted his back continuously as if he was telling him to open up and relax.

He still wasn't sure if Oikawa knew that Matsukawa and Hanamaki were also his friends, as much as Iwaizumi was.  
Oikawa awkwardly smiled.  
"Can I ask ... Why did your parents send your brother if they wanted you to transfer anyway?" Mattsun curiously looked at him.  
Oikawa huffed heavily and uncomfortably moved in Iwaizumi's lap.  
"Don't worry, this is staying between us. You can trust them. We just want you to feel comfortable." Iwaizumi softly pressed a kiss on Oikawa's cheek.  
"Okay ... My parents ... All they care about is reputation and money. You probably heard about me already ... I won the Best Setter Award in middle school." The boys nodded. "They've been really pushy since then. And now, because I'm injured, they think my volleyball career is over. So they wanted me to transfer so they'd have one less problem to deal with. Like they ever paid attention to me." He sighed again and then he received another kiss on the cheek from Iwaizumi. "But I'll talk to my mom tomorrow when I come home. You're not getting rid of me." He managed to smile, but it was bitter.

"Well, we're glad," Makki said and smiled. "Iwa-chan was getting really tense and grumpy. Thanks to you, we get to see him all lovey-dovey and adorable now."  
While Oikawa smiled again, Iwaizumi shot a glare at Makki, followed by: "I'll kick you, don't call me that!"  
"Don't think too much about it," Mattsun said. "Try to have fun while you're here." He looked at Makki. "That reminds me. We're gonna go take a nap now and we'll see you by the fire pit!" They rolled off the bed and waved at them before leaving.

"Mattsun and Makki are actually really nice," Oikawa realized.  
Iwaizumi laughed. "Did you think they were all memes and dirty pranks? There's a reason they're my best friends. They're great, just wait until you get to know them more." He pushed a strand of hair out of Oikawa's eyes and leaned his forehead against Oikawa’s.  
"Right, Iwa-chan, you've known each other for a long time, right? How come? They come from rich families, right?"  
Iwaizumi exhaled. "Are you gonna keep rubbing it in my face? Unlike you, they have a heart."  
"I do have a heart!"  
"I don't feel it."  
"That's because you're looking on the wrong side! It's _right here_ , dummy."  
Oikawa pressed Iwaizumi's hand against his heart. It was beating surprisingly fast.  
"Cold," Iwaizumi said after a moment or two. "So cold." He moved his hand.  
"So rude!" Oikawa pouted.

Iwaizumi pulled him closer and nuzzled into his neck. "We met at a playground and we basically never stopped hanging out. None of us really cared about the other's status." Iwaizumi groaned. "Let's not bring back the memories ..."  
"I'm sorry." Oikawa smiled to himself. "I can't wait to set for you."

His sudden honest thought made Iwaizumi freeze for a moment, before he was able to smile. "And I can't wait to hit one of your tosses." He hugged Oikawa's body and lay down with him.  
"Are you being cute again?"  
"Nnnghhhh ..."  
"I'll take that as a yes," Oikawa chuckled and petted Iwaizumi's spiky hair. The boy had his face buried in Oikawa's chest and he was hugging him.  
"Gnjhhh," was heard from Iwaizumi.  
"What? Sorry, I didn't catch that."  
"Kiss me," Iwaizumi looked up, blushing. "Please."


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Look at him."  
> "Do you think he can actually hear us?"  
> "Let's draw on his face."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaahhhh I think I can officially say that this fic will be posted completely in _ONE WEEK_ !!  
>  I'm so glad I actually made it this far. Thank you for all the support you gave me ^^

Chapter 28  
This was it. Their last evening at the camp. Most of the class was gathered already. Except, of course, _them_.  
"Did you really tell them the right time?"  
"Of course, idiot, who do you take me for?"  
"Ah! Sensei, there they are!" One of the girls pointed at the two figures getting closer.

"Just to make it clear, we are not late," Makki started explaining when they reached them. "According to this special buddy pal classmate, we're _early_." They quickly glanced at Iwaizumi and Oikawa but turned their gazes back to the teacher.  
The teacher only raised his eyebrows and sighed. He didn’t even want to know. "That happens if you don’t listen to your teacher," he said, before leading his class to the big fire pit.

"I'm sorry, I must have mistyped it," Iwaizumi quickly apologized as they walked.  
"Don't mind," Mattsun waved it off. "We know you didn't do it on purpose."  
Iwaizumi remembered that he had answered their text while he was making out with Oikawa, so he had probably pressed the wrong number and told them to come one hour later than they had to.  
"We figured you had better things to do," Makki added as if he could read Iwaizumi's mind.  
"Would you guys mind _waiting_ for me?!" Oikawa called, all frustrated.

The trio turned around only to find him a few meters behind the group. They stopped to let him catch up, but he was already grumpy.  
"Sorry," they apologized.  
"I can't believe you didn't notice I was _gone_ ," he complained. "What if something had happened? What if I’d gotten eaten by a bear, or worse, _kidnapped_?! I'd sue all of you!"  
They laughed at him. "You're being ridiculous," Iwaizumi said as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's catch up."

They soon reached their classmates who were already helping with the preparations for the barbecue.  
"Sit down," Iwaizumi said nicely when he looked at Oikawa. "There's nothing you can do."  
"But I-"  
"Sit."  
"Tch. I'm not your dog ..." He sat anyway. He waited for them to finish preparing so he could join the circle they formed with the teacher.  
They didn't sit down yet.

"This is the last night of the camp, so I'd like to say a few words," the teacher announced. “I have to say- UCHIYAMA! Pay attention! - it was a pleasure working with you this week. You're an interesting class and you have a lot of potential. We had our ... ups and downs." He suggestively glanced at Iwaizumi and Oikawa who were both a little embarrassed and looked down.  
"But I can say now that we are starting a great school year for all of us. Thank you!"  
The class replied with a bow and a loud thank you, then the teacher clapped his hands together. "Alright! Let's get to work."

Mattsun and Makki just politely snuck away from work when the other classmates started unwrapping marshmallows and starting a fire. Iwaizumi was with them, too.  
"So, Pan-kawa," Makki sat next to him. "You'll treat our friend nicely, right?"  
Mattsun sat on the other side and leaned a bit closer. "You won't leave him for someone else, right?"  
Oikawa looked from one to another. "Are you his parents?" he asked, slightly uncomfortable. But he sighed just after he said that. "I'm not planning to do anything like that. I really like him, and even though you might think I'm a little shit ... I care about him, a lot. And I know he needs to be loved, especially right now, until he calms down because of the situation at home."  
"Oh, honey," Makki gasped. "We're your friends. We _know_ you're a little shit." He stretched. "But that's okay. Mattsun's a dick, too."  
"And Makki's s real pain in the ass. But we just kinda stick together," Mattsun shrugged.

"Then what is Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked. The two tall boys looked at him, a little surprised. "If I'm a little shit, you're a dick and you're a pain in the ass ... What is Iwa-chan?" He looked at them without any hesitation.  
"Hajime ... Hajime is just ... hurt. He's not even rude, he's just defending himself."  
Oikawa thought for a moment. He looked back at the moments they had spent together. Well, Iwaizumi hadn’t exactly been nice at the beginning ... But he’d carried him when he twisted his ankle, he’d calmed him down when they ran into that bear and he’d even watched Stargate with him. He’d held his hand during the storm and he’d stood up for him without a second thought.  
Had there really been a moment where Iwa-chan was being rude just because?

"Look at him."  
"Do you think he can actually hear us?"  
"Let's draw on his face."

"I'm not _asleep_ ," Oikawa said as he turned his face back to them. "I was just thinking." He smiled. "You're right ... Iwa-chan is a great person."  
"Oikawa are you ... are you crying again?" Mattsun and Makki stared at the pretty setter.  
"I'm not! That's just my allergy."  
"What are you allergic to?"  
"Love?"  
"Shut up! I need a tissue."

"Gather around!"

The class sat around the fire. Many girls wanted to sit next to Oikawa, but Mattsun and Makki took care of that quickly as they pushed Iwaizumi on one side and they took the places on the other side. Oikawa was more or less confused while a few girls pouted at Mattsun and Makki, who only shrugged.  
"We have a crush on Oikawa, too," they said after the girls wouldn't stop. After that, they left them alone, blushing.

"Oikawa, were you crying?"  
"No-"  
"He was."  
"Like a baby."  
Iwaizumi scanned his face. "Did something happen?"  
"Oh, so-"  
"Shut up, Mattsun! You too, Makki." Oikawa glared at them. They just cackled to themselves before they put their marshmallows closer to the fire.  
"Nothing happened, don't worry," Oikawa said with a smile.  
"Okay. If anything-"  
"Iwaizumi-san, Oikawa-san, here are your marshmallows," a classmate said and handed them their marshmallows and picks. "If you want more, I can bring you some." She smiled.  
"Thank you."  
"Thanks! I like your-"  
"Dumbass." Iwaizumi punched Oikawa's head and shooed the girl away. "Don't carelessly flirt like that." He glared at him.  
"Oh ... I didn't mean to flirt, I was just gonna compliment her alien sweater." Oikawa pouted and crossed his arms.  
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Have you actually met any of these girls? They're devouring you with their eyes. But don't worry. I know you wouldn't do anything, right?"  
Oikawa moved his gaze to Iwaizumi. "Right. But if she really liked me, she would have said my name first."  
"Not that again."  
"But it's not fair!"  
"Can you not."  
"Iwa-chaaaaan!"


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You'd love her."  
> "Who?"  
> "My sister. I said you'll love her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg. 3 more chapters !!! fuck  
> Help

"Makki."  
"Yes?"  
"Iwa-chan's a tsundere, right?"  
"No, I'm not-"  
"Of course he is." Makki scanned Iwaizumi. He was tense and blushing and he was glaring at Makki, but his hand was placed suspiciously close to Oikawa's. "Yup, he is."  
"And a pretty stubborn one, too," Mattsun added. He smiled. "Good luck!"  
"I don't feel good about that smile ..." Oikawa backed away a little with insecurity.  
"You shouldn't. Also, you burned your marshmallow while talking to your price charming. Just saying." Makki pointed.

Oikawa immediately looked toward the fire and pulled his marshmallow away. "Nooo! I can't eat this now, it's all yucky." He sulked away and looked down as Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and poked his shoulder.  
"I can eat that," he pointed. "Go get yourself a new one."  
"You don't have to," Oikawa shook his head. "It's okay."  
Iwaizumi tilted his head. "No, you don't understand. I _love_ them like this. I wouldn't even call it burned. Go, go get a new one."  
"True, he would also cook pasta for thirty seconds and call it done. He loves raw food. Either that or burned. He's a weird one." Mattsun and Makki gestured to Oikawa that it was okay to leave because Iwaizumi wasn't lying to him.  
"You're so weird," Oikawa grimaced, but he somehow managed to get up with Iwaizumi's help.

While he was gone, Makki leaned closer to Iwaizumi, who was already enjoying his second marshmallow.  
"Just a small tip," Makki started. "You might not wanna make it so obvious that you guys wanna hold hands. I mean, the no homo rule applies to you, if you don't want to get caught. Unless, of course, this is all a part of your genius plan for coming out. In that case, good work." He gave him a thumbs up.  
Iwaizumi blushed again and slowly looked around if anyone heard them. Everybody seemed busy with other stuff. He made sure to talk quietly because he was so embarrassed, and even Makki thought it was adorable.  
"Is it really obvious? We said we were just going to ignore each other, but then you made us sit together and we kind of have to talk now."  
Makki stared at Iwaizumi for about half a second before he started laughing. "Right. You just _have_ to talk now. You are such an idiot, Hajime. You really are. The more awkward you're about it, the more obvious it is. Just talk to him normally, nobody's even listening to you."  
Iwaizumi gulped then he nodded and they leaned away again. Makki immediately told Mattsun everything and they laughed on their own while Iwaizumi ate the marshmallow, deeply in thought.

"Hello? Iwa-chan!" Oikawa waved in front of his face twice before the boy woke from his thoughts.  
"Uh, hey, sorry. I kinda zoned out."  
"Yes, I see. Can you help me?" Oikawa offered his hand.  
Iwaizumi stood up and supported Oikawa while he took a step over the log they were sitting on so he could sit down as well. Iwaizumi picked up the crutches from the floor to prevent anyone from tripping and placed them under their legs.  
"Do you mind if I leave early?" he asked.  
Oikawa was slightly taken aback by the sudden question but he shrugged. "Sure, go ahead. I won't stay for too long, either. If you fall asleep before I come, goodnight." He smiled.  
Iwaizumi briefly smiled and nodded. "Night."

Makki and Mattsun looked at each other. They didn't say anything, though.  
Oikawa started talking to some other classmates, too and he exchanged a few phone numbers along the way. He acted peppy and adorable but he kept Iwa-chan in his mind all the time. He wondered why he left early. He wasn't the only one, but Oikawa didn't think Iwaizumi was the type to do that.  
"Hey, darling." Mattsun tapped Oikawa's shoulder. "I need you for a second."  
Oikawa excused himself from the conversation and got to his crutches with Mattsun's help.  
"Was Hajime acting weird today or anything?"  
"No," Oikawa insecurely answered. He thought for a bit. "No ... I don't think so, why?"  
Mattsun frowned. "Well ... I don't know if he's told you, but it's been a month since his sister passed. He actually thought about not coming to this camp because he wanted to spend this day with his family."  
Oikawa quietly gasped. "Oh ... Should I go check if he's okay?"  
"Could you? You can call us if you think it's necessary. We have our phones here."  
Oikawa nodded. "Alright, I will. See you." He waved and left for their room. He didn't know how to approach him, since Iwaizumi was very stubborn and sometimes refused to say if something was bothering him.  
Oikawa prepared for the worst, too. He just hoped Iwaizumi wouldn't be dead by the time he reached him, but he knew that was probably a ridiculous idea.

He softly opened the door, quietly hoping Iwaizumi would be asleep, but he wasn't. He was talking over the phone and he didn't seem to notice Oikawa's arrival. Oikawa quietly snuck inside and closed the door behind, him but he stayed quiet.

"Of course I miss you, honey, how could I not? I can't wait to hug you tomorrow. And Mister Pug, too, yes." He quickly glanced at Oikawa when he climbed on the bed and hugged him from behind, resting his head on his shoulder.  
"Is it your sister?"  
Iwaizumi nodded. "Okay, tell me. Oh my god, really? I'm so happy! I can't wait to see you! Okay, goodnight. I love you." He imitated a smooch sound before his sister said goodbye and hung up.

"Your sister is too adorable," Oikawa said. Iwaizumi put his phone on the nightstand and turned to Oikawa.  
"Right? She's coming tomorrow, with my parents."  
"Did you talk to them, too?"  
Iwaizumi nodded. "I did ... They're ... looking forward to meeting you, I think."  
Oikawa's eyes popped out. "You _told_ them?!"  
Iwaizumi shook his head and looked at Oikawa. "No, I didn't. I just said I made a new friend, that's all." He smiled with the corners of his eyes.

"You'd love her."  
"Who?"  
"My sister. I said you'll love her."  
"No, Iwa-chan, you said I _would_ love her. Is it about your Nee-chan? Mattsun told me what day it is ..."  
"Oh. No, it's okay, I probably just-"  
"Iwaizumi."

Iwaizumi looked up. Oikawa was pleading, reaching out for him. He looked worried.  
"Please ... Trust me. Are you sad because of your sister?"  
"Of course I'm sad, Oikawa. She _died_. She was my best friend. We had the closest friendship, and in hard times, she was my second mom. _Of course_ I'm sad. And I regret so many things."  
Oikawa held his hands. "If you could turn back the time ... Would you tell her not to go?"  
"But I _can't_ turn back the time. But ... of course I'd tell her ... Why are you even asking me ..." He whispered. He didn't want to look up. He didn't want to talk about it and he didn't want to force Oikawa into dealing with him. He wanted to be strong.  
"Because I can only imagine how it must be to lose someone. And if I imagine losing you, I can understand why you're sad. I'm tearing up just thinking about it and I can only predict how hard it is to lose someone _that_ precious, like your sister. I've known you for a bit more than a week but I really care about you and I need to know you're okay." Oikawa's voice was filled with love, honesty. It must have been the fact, that Iwaizumi was his first real friend, or something.  
"But I'm not." Iwaizumi finally said it out loud. He leaned in, hugged Oikawa and sighed. "I don't want to cry again, I'm not a crybaby."  
"Oh, I know you're not. If I lost someone that precious, I'd still be curled up in my room and I'd refuse to live. But you're so strong ... Mattsun told me you didn't want to come to this camp. I'm so happy you did."  
"Me too ..." Iwaizumi confessed. "Can we talk about something else, please?"  
"Of course. Just ... Be okay, please. I l... I like you a lot. I care about you." Oikawa looked into Iwaizumi's eyes.  
Iwaizumi smiled. "Don't worry." He snorted. "Nee-chan would love you. She'd never stop teasing us, though."  
Oikawa chuckled. "We still have my brother for that," he said. "He’s just a bit, um ... Different."  
Iwaizumi kissed Oikawa's cheek. "We can handle that. Can we watch Stargate now?"  
"Ohohoho, you like it, don't you?"  
"Shut up."


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a prank goes terribly wrong and leads to a conversation about dead people which leads to a conversation about sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, the fact that megane Oikawa will actually appear in the anime makes my heart go crazy!  
> But the fact that I'm only 2 chapters from ending this fic makes me feel like ... what

"Nnnghhh ..."

Three in the morning.

 

"Iwa-chan ... Iwa-chan, I think there's someone outside our room. Please wake up, Iwa-chan."

Iwaizumi slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "What ...?"

"I think there's someone out there." Oikawa didn't look very amused. He held on to Iwaizumi's strong arm. Probably because he was scared.

"Are you serious ... It's ... It's three am, why are you even awake?" Iwaizumi sighed, looking at his boyfriend.

"I couldn't sleep. Can you go check if there's someone by the door? You can hit them with one of my crutches if you want."

Since it didn’t seem like Oikawa was going to settle down, Iwaizumi sighed again. "Okay. You wait here, okay? I'm sure it's nothing, though." He pressed a kiss to his forehead and his messy hair before he stood up.

"Take a crutch," Oikawa said, pointing at it.

"... Okay." Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but he picked up one of the crutches by Oikawa's bed and slowly walked toward the door.

Just as he was about two steps away, the door opened.

 

Iwaizumi didn't think twice, he reacted on instinct and swung the crutch, which hit the person he encountered. There was a thump and a dull exclamation of pain from the other person. Oikawa low-key screamed.

The light suddenly turned on just as Iwaizumi was about to hit the person on the floor for the second time. He reacted quickly enough: he stopped mid-motion, only to recognize his friend.

 

"Makki? Mattsun? Come on," Iwaizumi sighed, exasperated.

" _How_ did you hear us? We made sure to be extra quiet," Mattsun said as he closed the door and sat next to Makki on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Iwaizumi squatted next to him, worry painted all over his face.

Makki held onto his shoulder and winced. "I don't think I'm okay. I don't think I can walk." He was exaggerating.

"Can you move it?" Oikawa asked from the bed.

Makki tried moving his arm. "Yes."

"It's not broken. It might hurt you a bit. When my brother hit my hip with a crutch when I was little, he broke off a small piece of the bone. It hurt like hell."

"Okay, Oikawa, what _didn't_ happen to you?" Mattsun looked at him with a doubtful expression. Oikawa just shrugged.

 

Iwaizumi put the crutch away. "What were you two doing?"

Makki raised a tube of toothpaste. "Trying to prank you in your sleep. Which would have worked if, you know, you’d been _asleep_." He sat up. "But on the bright side, we managed to prank some of our other classmates."

"Some?" Mattsun grinned. "In fact, you're the only ones we didn't get to prank ... Everyone's doorknobs are marked. Even ours. So basically ... It's pretty easy to tell who the culprit is, right?"

Oikawa shook his head. "Oh _hell_ no, c’est cruel, you mark our doorknob right now."

Iwaizumi sat back on the bed. "And leave so we can sleep ... Or stay here if you want, I don't really care. Just don't do that anymore, Crappykawa almost wet his pants."

"I did not!" Oikawa protested. "Don't even think about sleeping over, we make out in the morning." He shot a warning look at Mattsun and Makki but he received a slap on his shoulder almost instantly.

They just laughed. "We do, too," Mattsun said. "But don't worry. We'll mark your room, then disappear into the night."

"Just go," Iwaizumi groaned from his bed. He was really just trying to _sleep_.

"Goodnight," they said before they left.

 

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi. "Well, then ... Goodnight." He lay down on his side, turned away from Iwaizumi, and supported his face with his hands.

...

"I can't sleep."

Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi. "Oh? I'm sorry. I just thought-"

"It's okay." Iwaizumi smiled. "Did you sleep at all, though?"

Oikawa shook his head. "No. And I can't. And I don't know why because usually, the painkillers make me sleepy, but ..."

"You're still taking the painkillers?" Iwaizumi sat up. "Are you allowed to do that? Isn't it bad for your body?"

Oikawa shrugged. "I don't know, probably. But look," he said. "I can walk."

He was about to get out of bed but Iwaizumi grabbed him by his wrist.

"Are you crazy? You can get even more injured. Let it heal properly, please."

Oikawa shook him off. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt."

"That's because you're stuffing yourself with painkillers. It's not healthy."

 

Iwaizumi let go off his wrist, but he kept his gaze fixed on him. Oikawa wasn't able to return it for long. He just frowned and uncomfortably lay back down.

"Iwa-chan," he said.

"What?"

"I wanna do it."

 

Iwaizumi blushed. "W-what?"

"I wanna do it with you. Have you done it before?" Oikawa finally turned his face to Iwaizumi. The latter just shook his head, still blushing. "I have," Oikawa continued. "This summer, with a girl. I regret it. Because I suddenly want you to be my first."

"But ... Isn't it a little early ..." Iwaizumi didn't feel uncomfortable, but he didn't know exactly how to react either.

"I'll wait," Oikawa said. "I just want to do it with you."

Iwaizumi found Oikawa's hand with his and locked their fingers. "Okay," he said. "I'll let you know."

 

Oikawa smiled. "Okay."

"You can still go down on me," Iwaizumi said, not sure if he actually said that out loud.

"I can?"

"Mhm." Iwaizumi tightened the grip around Oikawa's hand. "If you want."

Oikawa sat up, looking at Iwaizumi. He leaned in for a kiss and he looked at the hickey on his neck. He thought for a moment before he looked back at him.

"I don't think you're ready," he said. It was probably the first time he managed to shock Iwaizumi enough to leave him speechless. "You're breaking my fingers," he reminded him. When Iwaizumi loosened his grip, Oikawa smiled again. "You don't need to rush anything for me. I have porn." He frowned. "No, what I'm trying to say is ... It's supposed to feel good. I want you to feel good. So I'll wait."

Iwaizumi blushed. "I'm  so-"

"Don't apologize, please," Oikawa rushed his words. "To be honest ... I'd rather wait ten years than see you disappointed and hurt." He shrugged. "I don't know if it's normal, but I feel that way."

Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa closer. He didn't say anything for a while. He just played with Oikawa's hair and ignored the pounding in his chest.

 

"Okay," he said. "We'll wait until we're both ready. Thank you." He hugged him closer.

Oikawa smiled. "No problem." _I love you._ "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Oikawa abandons his crutches, Iwaizumi punishes him for it and then learns that he's dating a baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter. And this is done. I don't know how to feel about it. Honestly, I have no idea how to feel about this.

"What ..."

"What is this?"

"Ew, my hand is all sticky, what's going on?"

"Who put toothpaste on our door?"

 

The students were all a bit grumpy and confused in the morning.

 

"Oh man. Not nice, really. Whoever did this," Makki complained after he pretended he didn't see the paste on the doorknob and grabbed it.

"Honestly, I wish we came up with it," Mattsun said, snapping his fingers as if he was disappointed.

"Just wash your hands," Iwaizumi groaned when he came out of his room with two paper towels.

"Hmpf. You thought you could trick me into this, huh. Like hell I'll get my hands dirty so early in the morning."

 

Oikawa pouted in the hall. Some of the classmates found it adorable.

"And what if I know who's behind this?"

Mattsun and Makki came dangerously close to Oikawa.

"You knew about it."

"You're a part of it now."

"You tell on us, we tell on you."

 

Oikawa sulked and crossed his arms.

"Wait, dude, where are your crutches?" Mattsun looked at Oikawa in surprise.

"That little shit ... Get your crutches right now or I'll smack this toothpaste at your face!" Iwaizumi raged as he approached Oikawa.

"I can walk perfectly fine without them. Thanks, but I don't need them."

Iwaizumi didn't even warn him. He just smashed the paper towels against Oikawa's cheeks, which made the setter and some other girls scream.

" _Iwa-chan_ , je te vais tuer!"

 

"What's going on?!" The teacher appeared in the hall, looking frustrated. "Iwaizumi, Oikawa, what are you doing?" He scanned them. "Actually, don't say anything. Who put toothpaste on my doorknob?"

Mattsun and Makki disappeared the moment the teacher appeared. The other students started murmuring while Oikawa and Iwaizumi shot glares at each other.

"Everybody, get ready. Your parents are arriving in an hour. Go on, get to your rooms. You too, Murase."

 

"I can't _believe_ you did this to me!" Oikawa dramatized from the bathroom. "When I thought I could trust you ... You go and betray me like that."

"Shut up," Iwaizumi said with a dull expression as he appeared by the doorframe. He leaned the crutches against it. "And use them."

"I can't."

"I swear, Oikawa-"

"No, Iwa-chan, I can't." Oikawa wiped his face with a towel and leaned against the sink. "I have to walk on my own in front of my mom. I have to make it look like it's fine. It's enough that I have this cast on me."

 

Iwaizumi sighed. "Fine. But until she's here, please use them. Don't hurt your leg unnecessarily."

Oikawa nodded. "Fine. Are you done packing?"

Iwaizumi nodded.

"Good. I need you to sit on my suitcase."

"Why?"

"Cause it won't close." Oikawa made the puppy eyes. "Please?"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Fine. Use your crutches to get there," he said and pointed to them. Oikawa rolled his eyes but he listened and hopped to where his suitcase was.

 

"Okay ... Just how much did you take with you?"

"Well I need everything in here. Now sit," he commanded.

Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows. "Excuse you?"

"Please," Oikawa corrected himself. "Sit please."

 

Iwaizumi sat on the suitcase, but just as Oikawa was about to zip it, he jumped up.

"Wait, my beauty products!" He almost ran into the bathroom.

" _Crutches_!"

"I won't be able to carry my stuff then, sorry!"

"You can say sorry to your leg."

 

Oikawa returned from the bathroom in less than a minute. "Of course. Now move, I gotta put this in."

When Oikawa opened his suitcase, Iwaizumi almost had a heart attack. Everything was messed up. _Everything_. It was all randomly thrown inside and pushed by the sides, far from folded, and it was just ... jumbled.

"Oikawa ... No wonder you can't close it. How did you pack for here?"

"Um, I obviously didn't do it _alone_. Our staff helped me."

"... Are you fucking serious? I'm dating a fucking child. Come on. Take everything out. Your clothes will rot if you just toss them like this. Is this ... Is this towel still wet? Is that my shirt? Shittykawa ..."

"I swear, I accidentally put that shirt in here." Oikawa crossed his arms in front of him in defense. "You know I only wear brands. Here," he said and tossed the shirt to him.

"Thanks ..." Iwaizumi held it by the edges. He didn't feel very comfortable. "You know what, keep it. I packed all of my stuff already ..."

Oikawa's eyes sparkled. "Thanks! Will you help me pack properly?"

Iwaizumi facepalmed. "I don't really have a choice. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna do the packing for you, I'm just gonna _show_ you. Can you cook, though?"

"Yeah, I can make great cereal."

"... I ... I'm so done with you."

"Why?!"

 

Iwaizumi sighed as he helped Oikawa empty the suitcase. "You know what, I might actually bring you home for a week for real. And teach you a thing or two."

"Really, you'd do that for me?" Oikawa seemed happy. "Okay, I'm looking forward to it!"

Iwaizumi softly looked at him before making sure Oikawa looked his way so he could shoot him with a glare.

"If you really wanna come, you gotta know how to pack first. Can you fold a shirt?"

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Of course, I'm not _that_ incapable."

"Alright, then. Here," Iwaizumi said and tossed him a piece of clothing while he took one on his own.

 

When they were done, Oikawa looked from his crappy pile of fabric to Iwaizumi's neatly folded one.

"Don't even say anything," Oikawa said and made Iwaizumi laugh.

"You're such an idiot." He planted a kiss on his forehead. "You'll learn with practice."

 

They took about thirty minutes to pack all of Oikawa's things. They still needed to sit on the suitcase, though, because they managed to save enough space to stuff in Oikawa’s crutches as well – after several complaints from Iwaizumi.

"Now we have time to make out!" Oikawa threw himself around Iwaizumi's neck.

"Oi, you idiot!" Iwaizumi blushed a little. "But haven't we done that enough yet ..."

"No!" Oikawa gasped. "It's our last day here, and I won't see you until Monday! And we can't do that at school, or practice." He helplessly buried his face in Iwaizumi's neck. He pretended to cry and Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. He slowly patted Oikawa's back.

"Now, now. Come on, you're such a crybaby. Babykawa."

"Oh my god, please don't call me that."

"Babykawa."

"Iwa-chan, stop!"


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iwaizumi and Oikawa kiss ... in front of everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KYAAAAAAAAA I'VE DONE IT !!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this, for supporting me through my Bokuto moments (there were many) and thank you for leaving comments! I'm so happy I can say that _yes_ , this is the last chapter, this thing is _done_. This is my first long fic ever and I felt very anxious before I started posting it! But there's no way back now.
> 
> Thank you so, so much. I hope you enjoyed it!

The front yard of the hotel was full of people, parents greeting their children and other tourists casually walking around.

Mattsun and Makki had already bumped into their parents. Iwaizumi and Oikawa were still waiting, along with a few other students.

 

"Do you see your parents?" Oikawa asked, leaning on Iwaizumi's shoulder.

"No." Iwaizumi looked around again, just to make sure. He wasn't worried at all, because he had known they would take a while to get to the hotel.

"Me neither."

The atmosphere around them was almost sad and none of them seemed very happy.

 

The professor stopped by the group and quickly counted them.

"Will your parents come soon? We have to start in ten minutes. The classroom is booked by another group later."

Some of the students replied and the teacher left again.

 

Iwaizumi suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.

"I don't want to go home," Oikawa whispered, but he wasn't looking at him.

"Why not?"

Oikawa smiled. It was a smile full of pain and sadness. "I hate it."

Iwaizumi leaned his head against Oikawa's. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, just give me a call and I'll come beat them up for you."

"I don't have your-"

"NII-CHAAAAAN!"

 

A shriek filled with happiness interrupted their conversation and they both turned where the sound came from. A little, beautiful girl with big sparkly eyes and two braids ran their way with Iwaizumi's parents behind her, smiling.

Oikawa was surprised because they didn't _look_ poor at all. But he quickly slapped himself in mind for even thinking that.

 

Iwaizumi caught the little girl in a hug and pressed her tightly to himself then spun around with a huge smile on his face. Oikawa smiled at the sight like an idiot.

"I missed you so much!" Iwaizumi said. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she giggled.

"Hajime," his mother called and smiled at him.

Iwaizumi pursed his lips and looked at her. Her expression was pained, ashamed of what she had done to him while he wasn’t at home. But Iwaizumi took a step toward her, pushing away the fact that she was going to leave her family. He hugged her tightly.

"Hey, mom," he said. He smiled at her and he could swear he saw a reflection of a tear in her eyes. 

 

"Yahoo," Oikawa appeared behind Iwaizumi. "I'm Iwa-chan's boyfriend, Oikawa Tooru, nice to meet you!" He smiled.

Iwaizumi's parents’ jaws dropped, Iwaizumi almost had another heart attack and Oikawa realized he _shouldn't have said that_.

 

"Cute, puffy!" Iwaizumi's sister reached toward Oikawa's hair from Iwaizumi's lap and giggled at him. She broke the awkward silence between the four.

"Well," Iwaizumi’s mom said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you," his dad added. He was a rather quiet, introverted guy but he was nice and gave off a warm vibe.

Iwaizumi was blushing like mad. "The meeting ... Starts in four minutes ... Maybe we should go ..."

 

"I still have to wait for my parents," Oikawa said. "I'll see you in there. Bye bye ~" He smiled at Iwaizumi's sister and waved at his parents.

"Oho, Hajime?" His mom looked at him all smug. The boy just turned around and started walking away.

"He's delusional," he said. "He's cute though, right, Asami-chan?"

"Very cute! Asami likes him a lot!"

They both chuckled.

 

During the meeting, Iwaizumi had to have his sister in his lap because she refused to sit with her parents. Iwaizumi's classmates kept looking at them and whispering how incredibly cute she was. Iwaizumi felt the need to protect her so he snuggled her even closer to himself and kissed her cheeks all the time. He had no idea it only made _him_ look ten times cuter as well.

Pretty surely, his fanclub got even bigger because of that.

 

After the meeting, the parents and the students chatted outside. Iwaizumi's parents caught up with Hanamaki and Matsukawa's, while the two meme lords entertained the youngest of the Iwaizumis.

The teacher was talking to Oikawa's brother - his parents didn't show up.

 

"I'm sorry I told them, it just kinda slipped, please don't get angry, I'm really so-"

"It's okay." Iwaizumi shrugged. "What's done is done, right? They won't make a big deal out of it. And I think they accepted you. Especially mom, she's going to force me into talking about you on our way home, I can already see it." He sighed. "Well, whatever. Do you think it's weird if we hug?"

Oikawa shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? But all the girls are hugging each other." He opened his arms.

Iwaizumi stared at him for a moment or two. Then he slowly walked into a hug and pressed him closely to himself. It wasn't exactly a romantic hug, more of a thankful one.

 

"Iwa-chan ..."

 

Iwaizumi moved. "I'm sorry," he mumbled while he scratched the back of his neck.

"No, that's not what I meant!" Oikawa blushed and looked away too. He took Iwaizumi's hand softly in his. "I don't care if they see us ... I'm not ashamed of you, Iwa-chan. I'm happy when I hold your hand. So I don't care if people see us."

Iwaizumi was taken aback by Oikawa's words. But he didn't pull away. He gulped.

 

If only Oikawa knew how much he's grown in less than one week. Iwaizumi wanted to show him how good he actually was, how pointless his stupid act was and how he didn't need to build walls around himself.

 

"I ... Neither do I." With that, he leaned in and pressed his lips against Oikawa's.

It felt like time stopped.

Like there was only the two of them, everything around them froze. Even though their eyes were closed, they could see each other's beautiful faces in their heads.

 

Until, of course, they realized what they were doing.

"Did anyone see that?"

"I don't know."

They both intensively stared into the ground, blushing furiously.

"Let's pretend we didn't do that in front of our teacher."

"Agreed."

 

They started laughing after a few seconds. They were so stupid. So stupid but at the same time so perfect for each other. They probably didn't even realize that.

 

Oikawa stopped laughing first. "Iwa-chan ..." He looked in Iwaizumi's eyes. "I love you."

Iwaizumi's heart skipped a few beats (he didn't die, though). He didn't know what to say. Well, he knew, he just forgot how to talk.

 

He opened his mouth, ready to reply, but nothing came out.

"Nii-chan, nii-chan, hurry up, we're going home!" Iwaizumi's sister yelled as she ran toward him. "Come on, come on!"

Iwaizumi shivered and turned to his little sister, smiling. "Ah, sure! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Hmpf, say sorry to our mom, she called you ten times." Asami crossed her arms and pouted at her older brother. It was almost the exact same pout as his.

"Alright, alright. Come here." He took her in his lap and turned to Oikawa, to say goodbye.

But he wasn't there anymore.

Iwaizumi searched for him only to see that his brother was calling him as well, so Oikawa was walking toward him. Iwaizumi clenched his fist. Oikawa's ankle probably hurt like hell and his mother ended up not showing at all. It made him angry.

"Ouch, Nii-chan, this hurts!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let's go."

 

"Good job on another totally nsfw kiss, buddy," Makki winked at him when Iwaizumi reached them.

"This time in front of everyone, congratulations, you failed at that one job you had. Hiding from everyone." Mattsun smirked.

"You did the exact opposite!"

"Can you guys stop." Iwaizumi glared at them. "Did anyone else see?"

"No, no ... Not that many."

"About 87%, I'd say."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I have to spend the next three years with ... All three of you."

Mattsun and Makki laughed.

"Hajime-kun, hurry up!"

"I gotta go. I'll see you, bye."

"Bye-bye, Iwa-chan!" the duo teased him before he left.

 

When Oikawa arrived home, he went straight to his room. He promised Daisuke he'd babysit Takeru in the evening but he wanted to avoid any family members until then.

He flipped himself on his huge bed and sighed, looking to his left. It seemed empty without Iwaizumi next to him. It made him want to run to his place and hug him and never let him go.

 _Sigh_.

His phone suddenly buzzed and he sat up to see who it was. He expected some girl or maybe Mattsun but the number was unknown. He still opened the text, just out of curiosity.

 

_☆I love you too._

His phone buzzed again.

_☆If you tell anyone I'll break your arms._

_☆And if you spam me with messages I will block your number, spit at your face and lock you in a cage with bears in the zoo._

 

Oikawa couldn't help himself. He grinned like an idiot and pressed the phone to his pounding chest before he threw himself back against the bed.

 

  - to be continued -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm also very happy to announce that the sequel is being written!
> 
> All I can say (for now) is: angst. Angst and love. Who knows, smut might appear in the sequel, too!
> 
> I don't know when the sequel will be done, but you can enjoy my other writings as well!
> 
> Thank you. ♡
> 
> Hmu on tumblr though, really. push-it-hajime waiting for a message ;^


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